1 “It is my sincere desire that this simple and beautiful practice of the five warrior syllables, based on the highest teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Bon tradition, of which I am a continuator, will benefit many people in the West. Please accept it with my blessing and apply it in your life. May it help you become kind and strong, give you clarity and alertness to your mind. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche TENDZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE TIBETAN SOUND HEALING PRACTICE CD INCLUDED Bon spiritual teacher Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche leads the practice of each of the five warrior syllables and then teaches key practices for harnessing the healing power of these sacred sounds to cleanse, vitalize and awaken your natural mind. ISBN Seven Practices for Removing Obstacles, Achieving Beneficial Qualities, and Unlocking Your Innate Wisdom

2 TENDZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE TIBETAN SOUND HEALING Seven practices for eliminating obstacles, acquiring beneficial qualities and discovering your own innate wisdom EDITOR MARCY VAUGHAN St. Petersburg. Uddiyana. 2008

3 BBK Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Tibetan sound healing. Translation from English: St. Petersburg: Uddiyana, p. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Bon is one of the oldest eastern spiritual traditions, continuously transmitted to this day. Through the book Tibetan Sound Healing, you can become familiar with the ancient practice of the sacred sounds of this tradition and use them to awaken the healing potential of your natural mind. Published by: Tendzin Wangyal. Tibetan Sound Healing. Seven Guided Practices for Clearing Obstacles, Accessing Positive Qualities, and Uncovering Your Inherent Wisdom. Boulder: Sounds True, 2006 Foreword Editor English. publications Marcy Vaughan Translator F. Malikova Editor K. Shilov All rights reserved. Reproduction of text or illustrations in any form is possible only with the written permission of the copyright holders. ISBN Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, 2006 Uddiyana Cultural Center, translation, editing, design, 2008 I was born in India into a traditional Tibetan family. My mother and father fled from Tibet in whatever they were, leaving all their property there. Entering a monastery at a young age, I received a thorough education in the Bon Buddhist tradition. Bon is the oldest spiritual tradition in Tibet. It includes teachings and practices applicable in all areas of life: in relationships with the elemental forces of nature; in ethical and moral behavior; in developing love, compassion, joy and self-control; and also in the higher teachings of Bon in dzogchen, or “great perfection.” According to the traditional Bon view of his origin, many thousands of years before the birth of Buddha Shakyamuni in India, Buddha Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche appeared in this world and preached his teachings. Followers of Bon receive PREFACE

4 oral teachings and transmissions from teachers whose line of succession continues uninterrupted from ancient times to the present day. My monastic education included eleven years of study in the Bon school of dialectics, culminating in the geshe degree, which can be considered equivalent to the Western Ph.D. degree in religion. While remaining in the monastery, I lived in close proximity to my teachers. One of my root teachers, Lopon Sangye Tendzin, recognized me as a tulka, or reincarnation, of the famous meditation master Kyungtrul Rinpoche. The Buddhist Bon tradition is rich in methods designed to lead all beings to the path of liberation. I have the opportunity to introduce these precious teachings to the West thanks to the deep wisdom and kindness of my teachers and their tireless efforts to preserve these teachings. While teaching my Western students, I learned a lot myself. Tibetans don't ask that many questions! Many Western students helped me by asking questions about the Dharma, the teaching of the path to liberation from suffering. The difficult task of introducing the Tibetan Dharma to the West, as contained in the Bon Buddhist tradition, raised very important questions for me. In the monastery I was familiar with one way of teaching the Dharma, but in the West I became accustomed to another. I decided to offer this practice of the five warrior syllables as a result of my work, my practice, my interaction with students and with Western culture. My way of teaching is the result of years of adaptation and reflection. The fate of Dharma in the West is not going as well as it could, and this saddens me. I see people turning Buddhist ideas and philosophy into all sorts of crazy things. For some, Buddhism stimulates mental functions so much that they are ready to discuss it for years. So what's the result? What changes in the behavior of such a student? He endlessly repeats the same discussions about the Dharma in conversations with his teacher, with a new teacher, with other students, in other situations. As a result, many are marking exactly the same place where they started ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. The Dharma did not touch them deeply, did not really take root. Often what we live with in our daily lives is at odds with the spirituality we strive for. These two areas, as a rule, do not intersect in any way. For example, when doing spiritual practice, we pray to develop compassion in ourselves, repeating: “May all living beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering.” But how true is your compassion in everyday life? How deeply has this desire penetrated your life? If you observe how you actually live, you will probably be disappointed because you do not find real compassion for your annoying neighbor or remember the recent argument with your aging parents. Even if you keep repeating, “May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering,” someone who knows you well might ask, “Referring to “all PREFACE PREFACE

“5 living beings,” do you really mean those five over there, and especially one of them?” This practice of the five warrior syllables can change your life. But you need to integrate your spiritual practice with all circumstances and with all encounters, that happen in your life. If you cannot do anything about the primitive struggle that you wage in your daily life, then there is no way you can change anything in the higher realm where you want to benefit all sentient beings. If you are unable to love the one who you live with, or be kind to your parents, friends and co-workers, then you cannot love strangers, much less those who give you trouble. Where to start? Start with yourself. If you want to see changes in your life, but do not see them, listen to the clear instructions on this meditation practice and make this practice an integral part of your life. It is my sincere wish that this simple and beautiful practice of the five warrior syllables, based on the highest teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Bon tradition, whose lineage holder I am, have benefited many in the West. Please accept it with my blessings and integrate it into your life. May she be your support in your desire to become kind and strong, insightful and awakened. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Charlottesville, Virginia, USA March, 2006 Introduction The basis of the spiritual path is the desire to know and be oneself, true and authentic. This is the thought of thousands of those who went before you and those who will come after you. According to the highest teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Bon tradition, our true self, which we strive for, is originally pure. Each of us, such as he is, is initially pure. Having heard this, you, of course, may think that these are some big words or philosophical reasoning, and, most likely, you yourself do not comprehend this now. After all, all your life you have been influenced by ideas and ideas about your uncleanness, and it is easier for you to believe that this is so. However, according to teachings, your true nature is pure. This is what you really are. PREFACE i INTRODUCTION 7

6 Why is it so difficult to discover, to experience this purity? Why is there so much confusion and suffering all around? The point is that our true self is too close to the mind that experiences suffering. It is so close that we rarely recognize it, and therefore it is hidden from us. One thing is good: the moment we begin to suffer or discover our delusion, we have the opportunity to awaken. Suffering shakes us and gives us the opportunity to awaken to deep truth. Most often, when we suffer, we feel the need to change something in order to live better. We change work, relationships, nutrition, personal habits, etc., etc. This inescapable need of ours to constantly improve something in ourselves and in our environment contributes to the development of a huge industry. Although these actions may bring temporary relief or improve your quality of life, they will never go deep enough to fundamentally eliminate your dissatisfaction. It simply means that no matter what self-improvement methods we try, no matter how useful they may seem, we will never fully become who we really are. Our dissatisfaction is useful if it motivates us to ask more questions, but it is most useful if we ask the right question. According to the highest teaching of my tradition, the question to ask is: “Who is suffering? Who survives this test? This is a very important question, but if not asked correctly, it can lead to a false conclusion. If we ask, “Who is suffering?”, then we need to look directly and clearly into the inner space of our being. Many do not do this long enough or carefully enough to get to their innermost being. Feeling dissatisfaction is a necessary incentive to move along the spiritual path. When combined directly with your meditation practice, it becomes a powerful mechanism to help you connect with the pure space of being. By using the five warrior syllables in your meditation practice, you truly become connected to your original pure self, and once you achieve this, you can generate trust and confidence in this true self, and your life can become a reflection and expression of spontaneous and beneficial actions emanating from this authentic and true self. REVIEW OF THE FIVE WARRIOR SYLLABLES Our root awakened nature does not come from anywhere and it is not created already here. Just as the expanse of heaven is always present, although it may be obscured by clouds, so we are hidden behind rigid patterns that we mistakenly take for ourselves. The practice of the Five Warrior Syllables is a skillful method that can help us break free from our self-defeating and limiting patterns of body, speech, and mind, allowing us to express ourselves more spontaneously, creatively, and authentically. In this practice, we recognize what already exists, gain connection with it and faith in it. On a relative level, we begin to show kindness, compassion, joy towards others' successes and impartiality - qualities that INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

7 bring great mutual benefit in our relationships with ourselves and with others. Ultimately this practice brings us complete knowledge of our true self. In the teachings, this experience is compared to a child recognizing his mother in a crowd—an instant, deep awareness of connection, a feeling of being at home. In this case one speaks of the natural mind, and this mind is pure. In the natural mind all perfect good qualities are naturally present. There are many different ways we can practice meditation and connecting with our true selves. In my book about the five elements, Healing with Form, Energy and Light, I talk about using the forces of nature to maintain a deeper and more authentic connection with your essence. When we stand on the top of a mountain, we have the undeniable experience of vast open space. It is important to understand that such a feeling, an experience, is present in us not only when perceiving this exciting spectacle. Through grief we can become familiar with and develop resilience. Many of us go to the ocean for relaxation and fun, but the ocean's natural power can help us develop an open mind. We can turn to nature to draw on certain qualities and assimilate them, that is, take what we feel in physical contact and immerse it deeply so that our experience becomes an experience of energy and mind. How often do we look at a flower and think: “How beautiful it is! How beautiful! At this moment it is useful to comprehend this quality of beauty internally. Feel it while looking at the flower. Don't just look at a flower or any other external object and think it is beautiful in itself. In this case, you only see your opinion that the flower is beautiful, but this has nothing to do with you personally. Bring this quality and feeling to deep awareness: “I am experiencing this. The flower is a support to help me perceive this,” instead of thinking that the flower is something external and different from you. In life we ​​have many favorable opportunities to experience this. In the practice of the five warrior syllables, we do not start from the external. The approach here is to discover the inner space and move from there to spontaneous manifestation. Through sound we purify our habitual tendencies and obstacles and unite with the pure and open space of our being. This open space, the source of all goodness, forms the basis of each of us. It is simply what we ourselves truly are as awakened, pure, buddhas. There are five warrior syllables: A, OM, HUM, RAM and DZL, and each syllable symbolizes the awakened quality. They are called "seed syllables" because they possess the essence of enlightenment. These five syllables symbolize body, speech, mind, good qualities and enlightened deeds. Together they symbolize the true and fully manifested nature of our authentic self. In practice, we sing each warrior syllable in turn. With each syllable, we focus on the corresponding body energy center, or chakra, and unite with the quality that corresponds to that syllable. We begin INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

8 from the pure open space of being and end with the place of manifestation of actions. You begin each practice session, starting from your usual “I”, and transform all the circumstances and conditions of your life into open and pure ones: both those that you know about and those that are hidden from you. The first place you focus on is the frontal chakra. A chakra is simply a place in the body, an energy center in which many energy channels converge. These centers are located not on the surface, but in the depths of the body along the central channel; this light channel begins below the navel and goes up in the middle of the body, opening at the crown of the head. Different systems of practice use different chakras. In the practice of the five warrior syllables, syllable A is associated with the frontal chakra and the unchanging body, OM with the throat chakra and inexhaustible speech, HUM with the heart chakra and the quality of unclouded mind, RAM with the navel chakra and ripened good qualities, and DZA with the secret chakra and spontaneous deeds. . Pronunciation Guide A is pronounced like a long open “a” OM sounds like the English word home HUM the final sound is close to the nasal “n” RAM a long open “a” AZA is pronounced sharply and with emphasis Simply by directing attention to the location of the chakra, we activate it . Prana is a Sanskrit word that means "vital breath"; its Tibetan equivalent is lung, the Chinese is qi, and the Japanese is ki. I call this level of experience the energetic dimension. Through the vibration of the sound of a particular syllable, we activate the ability to eliminate physical, emotional, energetic, and mental disorders that is present in prana, or vital breath. By integrating the mind, breath and sound vibration, we can come to experience some shifts and changes at the levels of our body, emotions and mind. By removing the clamps, and then recognizing our inner space, which is cleared and opened, and resting in it, we find ourselves in a higher state of consciousness. Each seed syllable has a corresponding quality of light, a special color. A is white, OM is red, HUM is blue, RAM is red, and DZL is green. When pronouncing a syllable, we also imagine, imagine how light emanates from the chakra. This helps us dissolve the subtlest obscurations of the mind and experience the natural radiance of the awakened mind. Through the powerful combination of focus on a specific place, the vibration of sound and the perception of light, we develop an increasingly clear and open presence, radiant with good qualities. These very qualities of love, compassion, joy and equanimity become the support or gateway to an even deeper connection with the self, an even deeper wisdom, with the very space from which all existence arises. INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

9 In the practice of the five warrior syllables, we distinguish the starting point of the area of ​​dependence and dissatisfaction, several paths of entry, that is, the chakras, and our final destination, our primordial being. EXTERNAL, INTERNAL AND SECRET LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE We call these syllables warriors. The word "warrior" refers to the ability to defeat harmful forces. Sacred sound has the power to remove obstacles, as well as obstacles arising from poisonous emotions and obscurations of the mind, due to which we cannot recognize the nature of the mind and be our true self at any moment. You can consider obstacles at three levels: external, internal and secret. External obstacles are illnesses and other unfavorable circumstances. Whatever the external causes and conditions, the practice of the five warrior syllables serves as a means to help us overcome the suffering we experience due to these circumstances. Through this practice we also eliminate internal obstacles, that is, harmful emotions: ignorance, anger, attachment, jealousy and pride. Also, with the help of this practice, you can overcome secret obstacles: doubt, hope and fear. Even if external circumstances hinder you most in life, ultimately you need to cope with them yourself, on your own, with your own help. If you overcome such obstacles, you still have the question: “Why do I keep finding myself in these circumstances? Where do all these active harmful emotions come from? Even if it seems that the outside world has become hostile to you or that some person is plotting intrigues against you, one way or another it stems from you. Perhaps you realize how many emotions, needs and addictions are hidden within you. How deep within you lies the source of these needs and dependencies, you cannot even imagine, and therefore we need a method that would allow us to establish a deep and intimate connection with ourselves, a method that directs the powerful drug of clear and open awareness to the root of our suffering and confusion. We usually only notice a problem when it becomes glaring. When problems are still subtle, we are not able to notice them. I can’t imagine sitting in a crowded café where everyone at the tables is deep in conversation and hearing something like this: “The real difficulty in my life is that I have a fundamental ignorance and tend to think of my self as unchangeable.” and independent." Or: “I have a lot of difficulties. I am constantly exposed to the five poisons.” Most likely, you will hear: “Not everything is going smoothly for me. My wife and I are arguing." If difficulties manifest themselves in your external life, then you cannot help but notice them. As you experience them, you may even realize that you are partly creating them yourself. But the seeds of these difficulties are very difficult to recognize and must be considered a hidden obstacle. It is called “secret” only because it is more difficult to understand, since it is hidden from us. What is your secret difficulty? It usually takes time for your secret difficulty to mature and become an inner difficulty, which in turn matures then INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

10 becomes your external difficulty. When it becomes external, you share it with all your family and friends! As long as it remains secret or internal, you do not tell anyone about it and others may not have any idea about it. You probably don’t even know about it yourself. But when it becomes external, you, even without meaning to, drag others into it. If you consider the nature of your problem as it manifests itself in the outside world, it is clearly an external obstacle. But if you see who created it, from what emotion or circumstance it comes, then you can, for example, realize: “This is all because of my greed.” By considering and thinking about this aspect of greed, you are working with the inner level of obstacle. The question “who is greedy?” directed to the secret level. “He who is greedy” becomes a secret delusion, greed becomes an internal obstacle, and the manifestation of greed in the outer world, whatever your problem, becomes an external obstacle. What do these obstacles, hindrances and obscurations hide from us? On a secret level, they obscure wisdom from us. At the internal level, they obscure good qualities. In external manifestations, they interfere with turning these good qualities onto others. When these obstacles, hindrances and obscurations are removed, the spontaneous expression of good qualities occurs naturally. At the most subtle or secret level of existence, each of the five warrior syllables reveals a corresponding wisdom: the wisdom of emptiness, the mirror-like wisdom, the wisdom of equality, the wisdom of discrimination and the wisdom of all-fulfillment. At the inner level, good qualities are revealed. I mean the "enlightened qualities": love, compassion, joy and equanimity. They are also called “four immeasurables.” Since the good qualities are innumerable, for the purposes of this practice I urge you to develop a deep connection with these four. Everyone needs them. We are more aware of the need for good qualities than for wisdom. By uniting with these good qualities, we can unite with the deeper source of wisdom within ourselves, and also act for the benefit of others by manifesting these qualities in our actions on the outer level. Recognizing the need for love, compassion, joy and equanimity in our lives, but not uniting, turning inward, with these qualities, we often associate this need with material things. For some, love may be about finding a partner. Joy may mean buying a house or getting a good job, buying new clothes or a special car. We often experience our needs as fundamentally material: “I need to get this to be happy.” We strive to acquire or accumulate these benefits in a material sense. But through the practice of meditation, we begin to look within and discover a more essential place within ourselves where all these qualities are already present. At first, the practice of the “four immeasurables” can be approached from a worldly point of view. We need to take as a starting point what is most real for each of us. We start with the specific circumstances of our lives. We can INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

11 admit to ourselves that we are annoyed by our work colleagues or that we have lost our sense of admiration for our own children. If you understand your most primal circumstances and combine them with practice, you can make those circumstances a bridge to discovering the good qualities within yourself. These qualities then become a bridge to wisdom. There is always room for growth in this practice. You shouldn’t think like this: “I found my soul mate, someone I can love, this is my insight.” Your practice doesn't end there. At the same time, you really want to see the fruits of your meditation manifest in your relationships and in your creative expression. Therefore, we begin the practice of meditation starting from our suffering and confusion rather than from the purity of our being. The difficulty we combine with practice serves as the energy, or fuel, that will give strength to our path. Clearing our hindrances by drawing on the power of the five warrior syllables gives us the opportunity to glimpse the clear sky of our being. As a result of the disappearance of these hindrances, wisdom is revealed and good qualities are acquired. This is the way of a warrior. The spontaneous manifestation of good qualities in our lives is a direct result of meditation, just as confidence arises naturally as we become more and more familiar with our true nature. SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS OF MEDITATION I encourage, when engaging in the practice of meditation, not only to set immediate goals for yourself, but also to understand the ultimate, or distant, goal. The long-term goal of meditation practice is to cut off the root, which is ignorance, and achieve liberation, or Buddhahood, for the benefit of all beings, but the immediate goal may be something more ordinary. What would you like to transform in your life? The short-term goal can be anything from eliminating an underlying condition of suffering in your life to developing beneficial, healing qualities that are beneficial to yourself, your family, and your local community. You can start your practice with the simplest things. Reflect on your life to understand what you would like to transform. In this practice of the five warrior syllables, I suggest working with something personal. Let's say you are unhappy in life. From time to time think: “I have many reasons to be happy, I just need to focus on these things.” This turns your thoughts in a more positive direction, and it works for, say, a few hours or a few weekends. But by the middle of next week, you somehow return to the usual sad feeling of life. Let's say you are drinking tea with someone and talking. This helps for a few hours, but then you return to your previous state. Or you go to a psychotherapist, and this also helps, but then you again fall into a joyless mood. Somehow you find yourself back in the same cage from which you can’t completely escape. It turns out that your inner dissatisfaction is deeper than the methods you are trying to use. It is possible to experience your true self, and that experience is INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

12 is superior to any problem that comes your way in life. The practice of meditation helps to recognize and believe in this sense of being again and again. By pronouncing the warrior syllables, becoming comfortable with them and remaining in the inner space that opens up in you as a result, you begin to trust that deep area within yourself that is not only pure, open and free from any problems, but is also the source of all good qualities , spontaneously appearing from there when you encounter difficulties in your life. instructions on meditation similar to those found on the CD that accompanies this book. The Appendix contains instructions on tsalung exercises, which I strongly recommend studying and practicing. I advise you to start each meditation session with these five tsalung exercises in your daily life. They will help you identify and remove obstacles, hindrances and obscurations that prevent you from being in meditation. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK AND CD In the next five chapters, I will describe each of the warrior syllables and how to practice using them to help yourself and others. After reading each chapter, you can pause to listen to the CD and practice with audio guided meditation instructions that correspond to a specific syllable. This way you can become more familiar with this syllable and more deeply integrate what you have read and thought directly with your experiences. This is the traditional Buddhist way of moving along the path: reading or listening to teachings, reflecting on what you read or heard, and then combining what you have learned with your own meditation practice. The last audio track on the disc is a complete practice of the five warrior syllables. I have included a chapter in the book on how to establish a regular meditation practice, and finally, I provide a recording of the instructions - INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

13 FIRST First syllable A Chant the self-arising sound A again and again. Send radiant white light from the frontal chakra. Secret karmic obscurations dissolve in the source, Clear and open, like a cloudless clear sky. Stay without changing or complicating anything. All fears have been overcome and unwavering confidence has been gained. May I perceive the wisdom of emptiness! Space fills our entire body and the entire world around us. Space underlies all matter, every person, the entire physical universe. Therefore, we can talk about space as a basis or a field in which the movement of all other elements occurs and from the FIRST 23

14 of which both the familiar world with all its problems and the sacred world of enlightenment appear. According to Dzogchen teachings, the highest teachings of the Bon Buddhist tradition, space is the very basis of our existence. As such, it is unchangeable. This dimension of being is initially pure. We call it the wisdom body of all Buddhas, the dimension of truth, or dharmakaya. To recognize our open and pure being, we first turn to space. Having a deep connection with yourself is always a matter of connecting with space. The quality of the space is openness. It takes time to realize it and become familiar with the open state of being. At the body level, this pure space can be invaded by illness and pain. If we talk about energy, then this space can be occupied by interference stemming from harmful emotions. In the mind, this space can be occupied by obscurations such as doubt or constant movement of thoughts. They say about sound A that it is a spontaneously arisen, pure sound. According to Dzogchen teachings, the use of sound practice has less to do with its quality and more to do with its essence. When we make a sound, there is a level of awareness in that sound. Therefore, when we sing A again and again, we listen to the sound. It's similar to a breathing practice. We focus on the breath: the breath is us, the breath is our life, the life force, the breath is our soul. Sound cannot be made unless you breathe. Breath and sound are very closely related. Therefore, when we pronounce a sound, we turn to the breath and vibration of the sound itself. In some ways it is very simple: the speaker is the listener, and the listener is the speaker. In this way we can experience sound as self-arising. When you pronounce the sound A, that sound has a mind aspect and a breath or body aspect. If, while breathing, you direct your attention to this breath, then the mind and breath become united. In the Tibetan tradition we say that the mind is like a rider and the breath is like a horse. The path along which the horse moves in this practice will be a series of chakras of the body, and the armor of the rider will be the seed syllables-warriors. This armor protects the rider's alert mind from falling into hope and fear and from slavishly following the rational thinking that tries to control our experience. When you chant A again and again, the mind in that sound, thanks to the strength, protection and vibration of A, floats astride the prana or breath, and the physical, internal and subtle obstacles that prevent you from recognizing your unchanging essence are eliminated. This means that as a result of practicing the sound A, you open up deep inside. You feel it. If you do it right, you will feel this openness. The moment you feel open is a great success. You have discovered the basis, which is called the universal basis, kunzhi, which is openness. When you chant A, bring your attention to the frontal chakra and pronounce the sound very clearly. The first level of unification concerns physical sound. Then feel one with the energy, or vibration, of that sound. Visualize white light emanating from your frontal chakra, supporting the most subtle dimension of existence. A symbol of space, the eternal body, the unchanging body. At that moment when the FIRST FIRST

15 we sing A, we want to feel, to come into contact with openness and spaciousness. Thanks to vibration A, we begin to realize what is bothering us and free ourselves from it, and due to the dissolution of interference, we gradually open, open, open, open, open, open. Deep obscurations go away. When this happens, a certain sense of inner space begins to emerge. The impact of A increases as you continue to practice. And it helps you recognize the unchanging state of awareness and being. Its analogy is a clear, clean, cloudless sky. No matter whether you are overcome by despondency or excitement, or obsessive thoughts, they all look like clouds. Through sound, vibration and awareness, these clouds gradually dissipate and the open sky is revealed. Every time release of an emotion, obstacle or obscurity begins, it opens up space. There is simply an experience of openness. What happens if you remove everything from the table? Space will open up. Then you can put a vase of flowers on the table. What does L do? It makes it clear. Clarifies. It opens up space. It is important to know that in this practice we are not creating space, developing anything, or improving ourselves. There comes a moment when, through our experience, space simply opens up and we recognize that it is already present, a pure open space of being. Now you just need to stay, without changing or complicating anything. This is the Dzogchen approach. This is exactly what is said in the higher teachings. Meditation is a process of becoming familiar with openness. Therefore, in this practice we try to feel the sound, the energy of sound and the space of sound. Having connected with space, you abide and rest in it. Perhaps when you begin your practice, you do not feel that any particular obstacle is stopping you. There is always such a hindrance, but you may not realize it. Just chant A again and again, and then remain in open awareness. Or you may know that there is some kind of disturbance or interference, so when you sing, feel the vibration of the sound A and feel how the sound dispels the interference that you have brought to your consciousness. The A vibration is like a weapon that cuts off duality, cuts off the wanderings of your rational mind, cuts off your doubts, hesitations and lack of clarity. Anything that obscures openness begins to loosen and dissolve into space, and as it dissolves, your clarity increases more and more. You connect with pure space because the emotion you brought to consciousness has been transformed. When the interference dissolves, you feel a certain space. This is the space you want to know. You want to know this space and rest in it without changing anything. This is an introduction to openness, to the limitless space of being. By combining your dissatisfaction directly with the practice and saying the sound A again and again, the energy of that dissatisfaction can dissolve and through this dissolution bring you into a clear and open space of your being. You may ask, “What does liberation from my fear or my anger have to do with the highest meaning of the Dzogchen concept of abiding in openness, abiding FIRST FIRST

16 in the nature of the mind? If your main goal is to become happy in life and free yourself from this or that trouble, perhaps you do not set yourself the goal of remaining in the nature of the mind without changing anything. You don't know what it means to remain without changing anything. Your desire and intention is simply not to suffer from fear or anger, and therefore the immediate goal of your meditation is to get rid of it. Many Tantric teachings say: “When desire manifests itself, turn the desire into a path. When anger manifests itself, turn the anger into path.” Whatever harmful emotion, obstacle or difficulty you take on, no matter how personal it may seem, your difficulty becomes your path. That's what the teachings say. This means that you can achieve the highest awakening with direct help from your problem. This is not a generally accepted approach. What usually happens is that anger, when manifested, creates difficulties in your life. He encourages you to retaliate, makes you utter unkind and abusive words. You go too far and hurt yourself and others. Instead of allowing anger to be destructive, use it as a path. This is exactly what we do through this practice. So every time you start practice, bring to your consciousness what you want to transform in your life. Look at this and say: “You are my way. I'm going to transform you my way. These circumstances will help me in spiritual advancement.” And that's exactly how it is. When starting a meditation practice, it is important to find out what is stopping you: determine its place in your body, in your emotions, in your mind. Try to come as close as possible to the direct experience of this obscuration. Let me give you an example from everyday life: a person is afraid of relationships that impose some kind of responsibility. You can approach this analytically and explore the possible reasons for your fear. Perhaps your first relationship was destructive and you needed to end it, resulting in you hurting the other person. The consequences of your actions always affect you in one way or another. But in this practice we do not analyze our actions and their consequences. I don't mean that analysis has no value: it's just not our approach. Here the approach is very simple. Feel your fear, because you created it. He has matured. We don't think about how it matured. Instead, we directly address the experience of this fear in our body, prana, and mind. Bring this fear vividly home to consciousness. Again, the point is not to think and analyze the problem, but simply to face it head on while experiencing it at this very moment. Then chant A again and again. Let the vibrations of this sacred sound work. With this sound you clarify, clarify, clarify. Something is happening. There is some liberation taking place. Even if the relief is very small, it is wonderful. When you chant A and clarify, a window, a space, opens. A small opening appears in the middle of the clouds. Perhaps you have never seen such a gap before. Through it you see a glimpse of clear sky. This piece may be very small, but it is clear sky. Our ordinary experience of A will be a glimpse of openness, of clarification. The endless and boundless sky is beyond the clouds and you see a glimpse of it. This is your gate. FIRST FIRST 29

17 When you do practice with A, when you feel a moment of openness, this is your gate. You can change your usual position in the middle of the clouds, because you can see these dark clouds and see how a small gap appears. The moment you see this space, direct your attention to it. This means you are changing your location. The moment you see a glimpse of space is the beginning of your closer acquaintance with this space. You do not intend to be distracted by seeing this space. You intend to simply remain in the experience of space. The more you remain without changing anything, the more space opens; the more you stay, the more it opens; the more you stay, the more it opens. When these clouds clear, you rest on a foundation that was previously unknown to you. This base is open space. You have freed yourself from something and are in the opened space without changing anything. Recognize in this space the mother, the buddha, the most sacred place you can ever find within yourself. Recognize in this space the gateway to all existence. A special experience is being in emptiness. By recognizing this sacred space within yourself, you receive the empowerment of the dharmakaya, the wisdom body of all the buddhas, the dimension of truth. This is the highest fruit that practice brings. So, going back to practice, you work with A. Because A removes some obscuration, it opens up space. It is very important. It opens up this space. Then remain without changing anything. You combine your suffering, or dissatisfaction, or anger with practice, chant A again and again, dissolve obscurations and rest in the space that has opened up to you. This space may not be exciting. The desire to get rid of something is very common. Everyone wants to get rid of something. “I want to get rid of sadness. I don't want to be unhappy." Since some space that opens up in the practice of meditation is still unfamiliar and does not evoke joy, there may be a tendency to look for the next problem. I emphasize that we are talking here about the moment of your contact with the experience of the primordial purity of being. You find yourself in it because of your personal experience. This is the most effective way. By doing this, the benefits are twofold. First, you develop a very clear awareness of what it means to remain, to rest, without changing anything. Secondly, by gaining a very clear awareness of what it means to abide, you have a powerful means of overcoming internal obstacles. The obstacles have changed. You cannot truly abide unless they are changed, and you cannot change them unless you abide. So these two sides are interconnected. Once you have a glimpse of openness in practice and the ability to abide in it, you are able to perceive wisdom. Each of the five syllables is associated with one of the five wisdoms. The wisdom of emptiness is associated with A. You gain the ability to perceive the wisdom of emptiness or something close to it. Why? Because you have delusion. In fact, your delusion is helping you. You will probably not be able to perceive the wisdom of emptiness, you will not be able to remain in the clear FIRST FIRST

18 space, if you do not experience this obscuration. Therefore, your delusion becomes a path, a very important means of realizing the wisdom of emptiness. With the sound A we remove obstacles in order to discover the immutability of the basis of our being. And it helps us to recognize our unchanging being and abide in it. And the symbol of the unchanging body of all Buddhas. After reading this, you may be thinking, “Got it: A implies immutability.” But if you turn to your experience, you may notice that everything is constantly changing. Your personal experience completely contradicts this definition of A! Your body is constantly changing, and your thoughts change even faster than your body. However, if we can look directly into our being, we will see that at the center of all changes there is an unchanging dimension. Through this practice we try to connect with this unchanging dimension. Of course, trying to connect is not the same as connecting, because trying is also a kind of change! And the thinking process can take us very far. So stop it. Stop talking to yourself. Stop following your thoughts. Be! Rest in peace! Find more space within yourself. The goal you are heading towards is to discover more space within yourself. You do not strive to activate your thinking more and more. Create a supportive environment to focus on discovering the sense of unchanging being. Find a comfortable posture and then practice Method A. The confidence you gain from successfully practicing A is called “steady confidence.” Your very perception of your own being can be affected by this practice to such an extent that even when a change occurs, you do not change. You have discovered the stability of open awareness, the confidence of an unchanging body. The best way to develop confidence is to eliminate anything that prevents you from having a direct experience of the open and clear sky of being or obscures it from you. What may begin as a general idea and then become a brief glimpse of an experience gradually matures with deeper familiarity. Lasting confidence comes with a certain degree of maturity in the experience of openness. Openness becomes authentic. Developing confidence is not so much about doing something, but as you continue to connect with openness in your practice and dwell in that openness more and more, abiding confidence will become a natural outcome. This is our practice. We turn to the highest level of Dharma with difficulties of the most insignificant level. We begin with a very specific awareness of the life circumstances we want to transform, a direct and deeply personal sense of our confusion, and by using the method of singing A, directly experiencing in this moment, we transform this state into a path. Through the power of sacred sound we receive a glimpse of openness and, realizing that this openness is the pure and fundamental nature of our being, we abide in it without changing anything, openly, clearly, sensitively, confidently. LISTEN TO THE SOUND TRACK 1 FIRST SYLLABLE A FIRST FIRST

19 SECOND Second syllable OM Chant the self-arisen sound OM again and again. Send radiant red light from the throat chakra. All knowledge and experiences of the “four immeasurables” Arise like sunlight in a clear, cloudless state. Abide here in clarity, radiance, completeness. All states of hope have been overcome and endless confidence has been gained. Let me perceive mirror-like wisdom! sky. Just as A connects us to the space of being, OM connects us to the awareness, or light, in that space. If you are able to feel connected to the inner space, the experience of openness naturally gives a feeling of completeness. This inner space that has opened up to you is not emptiness, SECOND

20 a space of fullness, aliveness and receptivity, which can be felt as a feeling of completion. Usually our sense of completion or satisfaction is relative. “I feel good because today I finally got my car fixed.” “I feel so good because today is a wonderful day!” All these are relative, changeable reasons for experiencing satisfaction. Feeling contentment is wonderful, but it is important not to depend on external things that give us this feeling, because they are not permanent. At times you may feel deeply satisfied, although there is no particular reason for this. And at times, many reasons can cause you to feel this way: you got a new job, your relationship is going well, you are healthy. Whatever the reasons for your feeling of satisfaction, they imply a subtle and constant hope. At any moment, the feeling of satisfaction has some other facet, some shadow. "I'm doing well as long as I have this job." “I feel so good!”, you say, smiling, and the subtext is: “I feel so good, and I want you to be with me always” or “I’m happy as long as my health is fine.” This is our subconscious dialogue that subverts our position. One way or another, we are always balancing on the edge. Our satisfaction is always at risk. The sound OM is clear in itself. This means that clarity does not stem from any reason or circumstances, but the space of our existence is clear in itself. OM is the symbol of this clarity. Through the vibration of OM, we purify all our circumstances and reasons for feeling full. We delve into all our reasons and circumstances until we achieve a certain feeling of satisfaction that is not caused by any reason. Through this practice we explore what contentment without cause is like. When you sing this syllable, you feel some pleasure of releasing something. After this feeling of relief, you may feel some disorientation. You may not understand what to do because the space is less familiar to you than the thoughts or feelings or sensations that previously filled it. The purpose of this meditation is to know space and stay there, and with this support you can rest deep enough in it to get a little glimpse of light. Wow! You feel "Wow!" because the light comes naturally from space. Why does light spontaneously arise from this space? Because the space is open. The light that permeates this openness is the light of our awareness. We experience light as brightness, clarity and energy. At this stage there is an opportunity for the infinite potential of awareness to be perceived directly. However, at first, most often you need to get used to the experience of relief. Although you are so tired of feeling sad, or confused, or angry, when you release this emotion, you probably feel a little confused. If you become too confused, you will not be able to recognize the experience of OM. You may open up, but then quickly close again and miss the opportunity to experience clear and vivid awareness. If we consider the progress of this practice of the five warrior syllables, then what happens when the inner space opens? We make the experience possible. We give ourselves 36 SECOND SECOND

21 opportunities to fully experience ourselves. We provide the opportunity to fully experience the whole world in this space. The existing potential allows you to experience everything in its entirety. But often we do not give way to this fullness, because the moment we have a little openness, we become afraid. We do not recognize this openness for what it is. We are closing immediately. We close ourselves, occupying this space. This is where loneliness and alienation begin. Somehow, we fail to recognize ourselves or connect deeply with ourselves in this space. As long as space remains unoccupied, we feel uncomfortable. Many people become depressed after losing a husband, wife, or friend because the people they were truly connected to become symbols of light and brightness in their lives. When their loved ones pass away, they feel that the light is leaving. They sense light in others, not in the space itself. They do not fully recognize the light in themselves. When we pay attention to our throat and chant OM, we not only experience openness: in this openness we experience complete awakening. When we are open and feel this full awakening, we feel completeness in our experience. Most of us are unfamiliar with the feeling of fully experiencing space and light. We know how to experience the feeling of completeness using other people or objects. Through practice with OM we try to become familiar with how to experience the fullness of space and light. Often we are not aware of our fullness at this moment. Therefore, integrate with the practice of OM any feeling, or lack of fullness, or emptiness that you may experience. Directly feel your body, emotions and mindset. Having felt all this directly, without analysis, chant OM again and again, and let the vibrational power of OM dissipate and dissolve these patterns that support the experience of lack or lack of completeness. As you experience release and opening, imagine the red light in your throat chakra supporting your openness and awareness. Then rest in the brightness of each moment. Feeling complete openness, you feel full and satisfied. There is nothing missing, there is nothing missing. In this practice, when you feel the vastness of space, this space is not empty, not dead. The space is perfect. The space is full of possibilities, light, awareness. Here is a comparison with the shining of the sun in a cloudless sky. The light of our awareness fills our experience of openness. There is light in this space. In our openness there is awareness, and this awareness is light. When you chant OM, feel the space and feel the light. Develop familiarity with this through this practice. Strive for the experience: “I am perfect just the way I am.” If A connects us to the space of being, then OM connects us to the light inside this space. The sun is shining in a cloudless sky. The space of our being is not empty at all, but full of light, filled with the light of awareness, the endless light of our ability to perceive, the natural radiance of mind-wisdom. SECOND SECOND

Excerpts from Tsoknyi Nima Rinpoche’s book “Open Heart. Open mind. Awakening the power of the essences of love."

Tsoknyi Rinpoche- Dzogchen master, son of Urgyen Tulku Rinpoche and elder brother of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (“Buddha, the Brain and the Neurophysiology of Happiness”).

Tsoknyi Nima says that for modern Westerners, awakening the subtle body is almost more important than awakening the mind.

Slim body

I was very young, only in my initial training, when my chief mentor Tselwang Rindzin told me about an aspect of human beings that explained the feeling of unease that haunted me in Tashi Jong.
For several years in a row I suffered from ulcers on the mucous membrane of the stomach and mouth, as well as from abscesses on the scalp. I slept badly. I couldn't eat. I didn’t know what to do: go to any lengths to get rid of illnesses, or hide in a corner and die quietly.
Tselwang Rinzin eventually explained that the difficulties I was experiencing were related to an aspect of human existence known in the Buddhist tradition as the subtle body. For ease of understanding, we can say that the subtle body is the place where emotions arise and disappear, often having a tangible effect on the physical body.
It was late afternoon when Tselwang Rindzin sat me down next to him for a conversation. The other tulkus with whom we lived in the same house were talking to the monks outside. I clearly heard their voices while my mentor and I sat on the bed and through the small window watched the golden sunset deepen.
“I've been watching you closely,” he began. - Maybe I was a little harsher with you than with other students. This is because you arrived later and because the Tsoknyi line is very important.”
I began to sweat, waiting for the continuation. I was absolutely sure that he was going to scold me. After all, he caught me red-handed when I ran off to the neighboring village to watch films, and he knew that I was talking to the village girls.
“But you are a good student,” he continued, “and can be said to have mastered perfectly the intellectual meaning of “I” and how it can limit our ability to understand the Buddha’s teachings with our hearts. Nevertheless…"
He stopped.
The sun was slowly setting; I felt a shiver run down my spine.
“I also noticed,” he finally said, “that you feel depressed, and this depression has caused your illness and, in addition, has made you a little willful.”
He looked gloomy as always, and I was preparing for the second portion of the reprimand.
Instead, after a moment, his expression softened, and from the way he changed his body position, I guessed that he had something else on his mind.
“Now,” he said, “it’s time to teach you something that is not included in the traditional curriculum.”
I was afraid to move, so as not to betray the curiosity that was bursting inside me, when he smiled at me with one of his rare smiles.
“As you know, you have a physical body,” he began, “and you have come a long way toward understanding how the mind develops a sense of self. But there is also a layer... - the mentor searched for words - of lived experience, which is located between one and the other. This layer is called the subtle body."
He sighed.
“Explaining what the subtle body is is like trying to describe the taste of water. You realize that you are drinking water. You need it when you feel thirsty. You feel relief when your body is saturated with its moisture. But can you describe the taste of water to someone? In a similar way, is it possible to describe a feeling of emotional balance? Or the feeling of relief you feel? “I doubt it,” he muttered, “but I’ll try.”

Subtle matters

According to the Tibetan tradition, the emotional programs that determine our state of balance or imbalance, as well as the physical and emotional manifestations of persistent imbalance, are functions of the subtle body.
The subtle body is rarely described in texts or discussed in public teachings. It is considered the subject of the higher or more advanced teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. However, I think that understanding the structure of the subtle body and its influence on our thoughts, actions, and especially our emotions is necessary to comprehend the meaning of the layers that obscure the ability to treat ourselves, other people, and various life conditions with warmth. Moreover, without knowledge of the subtle body, most meditation practices turn into simple exercises to expand one's own comfort zones, sets of techniques designed to preserve and maintain a stable sense of self.
The subtle body is, in essence, a kind of interface - a mediator between the mind and the physical body, a means through which the two aspects communicate with each other. This relationship is traditionally illustrated by the example of a bell and a tongue - a metal ball that strikes its walls from the inside. The tongue is a thin body, a connecting link between the senses and the body. The body is depicted as a bell. When the tongue touches the bell, the physical body - nerves, muscles and organs - is touched and a sound is heard.
The structure of the subtle body is still a little more complicated than the structure of a bell. It consists of three interconnected elements. The first consists of a set of so-called tsa (Sanskrit nadi), which translated from Tibetan means “channel” or “path”. People familiar with acupuncture techniques will notice the similarity of these channels to the meridians described in acupuncture texts. It will be easier for other people to find similarities between the Tibetan Tsa channels and the network of nerves that run through the entire body, with which they are in fact closely connected.
Channels are a way of moving “sparks of life” - let’s call them that. In Tibetan these sparks are called tigle (Skt. bindu), which can be translated as “drops” or “droplets”. This symbolic interpretation was proposed so that we could form a mental image of what moves through these channels.
Now, of course, we can think of these "drops" as neurotransmitters - "chemical messengers" that affect our physical, emotional and mental state. Some of the neurotransmitters are quite well known: for example, serotonin plays a key role in depression; dopamine is a chemical that produces a feeling of satisfaction, and epinephrine (better known as adrenaline) is produced during stressful situations, feelings of anxiety and fear. Neurotransmitters are tiny molecules, and although their influence on our mental and physical well-being can be significant, they move between different organs of the body at a subtle level.
Tigles move through channels by the power of energy, called in Tibetan lung (Sanskrit prana). The main meaning of the concept of lung is “wind”, a force that carries us in one direction or the other, both physically, mentally and emotionally. According to the Buddhist tradition, all movement, sensation and thinking can take place through the lung, without the lung there is no movement. Lung is concentrated in the abdomen, at a distance of four fingers' width below the navel (roughly corresponding to the dan tien area in qigong practice). This is its habitat, so to speak, from where it flows through channels, carrying sparks of life that support our vital functions, our physical, mental and emotional state.
But if we do not see this subtle body and cannot touch it, how can we know that it exists?

Accepting Embarrassment

It took me several years to find the answer to this question. And this happened when I found myself in an extremely awkward situation during my first training tour in the USA.
I had a long flight from Nepal to California, and when I finally landed at my final destination, the woman organizing the retreat looked me up and down and exclaimed, “Rinpoche! You look terrible! Would you like me to make an appointment with a physiotherapist?”
I gratefully agreed.
After a couple of days of settling the organizational issues, the therapist came to the house - where I was staying. I must admit, her appearance scared me: she was wearing black leather clothes embroidered with metal parts, but that’s not the worst part. She told me to lie down on the bed in the room and started moving her hands over my body, lightly touching it with tickling movements from time to time. I felt a slight tingling sensation, but it didn't feel like a sports massage, which I was hoping would help loosen the blockages in my body. After half an hour, she asked me to turn over on my back (this took a couple of minutes because I managed to get tangled in my lama's robes) and continued her waving of her arms, and I began to get a little irritated and stress myself out.
“She said she would work for about an hour,” I thought. - Half an hour passed and she didn’t even touch me. Okay, maybe she has her own way of detecting stress points in the body. And when she finds them, then she’ll get down to business.”
The therapist moved her hands for some time and, lightly tickling, touched my body. Then she grabbed my right hand and began to slowly raise and lower it. At that moment I thought: “What kind of treatment is this? I can move my own arm myself.”
And suddenly she exclaimed from the second bed: “Rinpoche! This won’t work: either I do the work or you!”
I didn't understand what she was talking about. I opened my eyes and saw that my arm froze in an extended position perpendicular to my body. All that internal irritation, expectations and pessimistic attitude literally shackled my hand. She had already let go of me, but her hand still stuck out.
I was so ashamed. At that very second I lowered my hand.
The woman worked on her hand a little more, and it was time for her to leave. She asked when I would like to have another session, but I mumbled something about the near future.
After she left, I reflected on what had happened and finally understood the connection between the subtle, energetic and physical bodies. My emotions completely took over my physical reaction.
Experiencing the influence of the subtle body was a real revelation. I may have been embarrassed at first, but over time I began to appreciate this embarrassment and was even able to accept him into my arms. Maybe because I'm a bit of a slow person. I respect the teachings of the masters of the past, but until I experience them firsthand, they will not make much sense to me.

A question of balance

Ideally, the subtle body should be in balance. The channels are open, the “wind” is concentrated “at home” and walks freely, and the sparks of life flow effortlessly through the channels, fulfilling their functions. We experience a feeling of lightness, cheerfulness, openness and warmth. Even if we have a lot planned today, a long journey or an important meeting awaits, we feel calm and confident. We look forward to what today will bring. This state can be called “being happy for no particular reason.”
On the other hand, we may wake up under the same circumstances - the same bed, room and identical plans for the day - and feel heaviness, anger, anxiety and depression. We don’t want to get out of bed, and when we do, we hide from the world behind a newspaper or computer screen. We are “unhappy for no particular reason”; at least we can’t name it right away.
This is partly why the subtle body is called “subtle.” The interaction of tsa, lung and tigle is not easy to identify until the imbalance finally manifests itself in the form of an emotional, physical or mental problem. Programs operating at the level of the subtle body, as a rule, are formed without the participation of our consciousness, and if measures are not taken in time, they will grow and develop until, figuratively speaking, they erupt in tragedy.

Causes of imbalance

The body can become unbalanced in two ways.
One of them has to do with ca: the channels can become blocked or twisted, usually as a result of some kind of shock or trauma. For example, several years ago I was on a plane from Pokhara, one of the low-lying regions of central Nepal, to Muktinath, a remote mountainous area high in the Himalayas. The plane was small, with only eighteen seats, most of which were occupied by foreign tourists, mainly pilgrims.
I was flying to Muktinath to supervise work at the local Buddhist nunnery. The temple and other buildings were in disrepair, and the nuns lived in appalling conditions. They simply did not have the money or qualified workers to maintain the monastery.
The plane was scheduled to take off at 8 a.m. to avoid strong winds, which almost always pick up around noon. In those days, air travel was a dubious undertaking, and planes often took off several hours later than expected, if they took off at all. We finally left the airport with a three and a half hour delay, when the winds were already in full force.
While we were flying over the mountains, our tiny plane was thrown from side to side for almost half an hour due to turbulence. Many passengers screamed and cried, thinking they would die. I used a technique that helped me a little to stay calm: instead of focusing on the movements of the plane, I looked out the window and concentrated all my attention on one of the mountains. But I must admit that the same fear that gripped the other passengers penetrated into me. This fear - a shock to the nervous system - left a kind of imprint on my mind. Although we landed safely, I prayed that there would be another way to return to Pokhara - by car or by bus. But at that time there was only one way - by plane. On the way back, I was on the same small plane full of foreign tourists, and I was sweating so much that my clothes were soaked through. I clenched my fists tightly, and although it helped me relax a little, I knew that no matter how hard I clenched them, it wouldn't do much good if the plane actually started falling.
When such a terrible event occurs, the rational mind loses the ability to think, and the ca channels become slightly twisted, forming programs that affect not only emotional reactions, but also the physical state.
Repeating distressing emotions over a lifetime can also cause distorted response patterns to leave their mark on the channels. For example, one woman described how, as a child, adults forced her to “keep your mouth shut, never complain or explain anything.” Now, whenever she tried to express her thoughts or feelings, her throat became dry, and she could not utter a word. A woman found herself married to a man who abused her, but she couldn't tell anyone about it. Every time she went to dial the emergency number, her fingers went numb and her voice refused to obey.
An imbalance also occurs when the lung rises. This type of imbalance develops in parallel with the development of different layers of the self. Once we enter the sphere of influence of the “real self” (and, by extension, the “real others”), we are influenced by fear and hope, attraction and aversion, praise and prejudice.
Because we are cut off from our natural spark of essential love, clarity and openness, which form the basis of our nature, we begin to look for feelings of satisfaction externally: in achievements, recognition, relationships, acquiring new things. And since in almost all cases we are disappointed in what we were looking for, disappointed when what we find cannot fill the empty space, we continue to search, we make more efforts, and as a result, the lung energy begins to go off scale. As a result, we become restless and agitated; hearts beat wildly; problems with sleep begin.
This restless energy feeds on itself. We walk faster, talk faster and eat faster without even realizing it. Or we suffer from headaches, back pain, anxiety and nervousness. Even when we are ready for bed, or perhaps have decided to take a nap, we are plagued by anxiety - what I call internal "acceleration" - which simply does not allow us to rest. Our lung is asking us to do something, but we don't know what.
By the way, my student recently described his situation. He was physically exhausted, burdened with a difficult project at work, and suddenly he had the opportunity to take a nap in a hammock in the garden of his friend's house on a pleasant summer day. The smell of fragrant flowers enveloped him, and the chirping of birds was heard.
“But I couldn’t sleep,” he explained. - Something was constantly itching inside - the feeling that I was wasting my time, that I should get back to work. I had to answer calls and emails. I had a lot of work to do."
“This something,” I explained to him, “is your lung. He's stuck in a trap. Lung is partially blind. This subtle, inner restlessness, which cannot be detected either in the body or in the mind, will not allow you to rest, no matter how exhausted you are.”
Subtle inner restlessness can result in a very dangerous situation. If we do not pay attention in time, the imbalanced lung may end up in the heart or another organ or system of the body. We will feel feverish, our eyes will burn, and our skin will crack. We will begin to sweat during fitful sleep, tossing and turning in bed, trying to find a more comfortable position, while our lung will pulsate, giving rise to all sorts of thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. Sometimes we find a reasonable explanation for our torment: a work deadline, a quarrel, financial difficulties or health problems - but even when the reason seems to be established, the anxiety does not subside.
When this energy reaches its peak, we feel exhausted, lethargic and depressed. We burn out, feel apathetic, and are unable to complete even the simplest tasks. As a result, we sleep all day long, but we are bothered by heavy dreams.
Additionally, when an imbalance occurs, the lung gets stuck somewhere, usually in the upper body - in the head or chest. A close friend of mine was in so much pain in his neck and shoulders that he asked friends to walk on his upper torso while he lay on his stomach. But this is just a temporary measure that had to be resorted to daily.
In many cases, imbalance creates programs that seem to live their own independent lives. Ca are blocked. Lung moves at wild speed. Tigles get stuck in channels or move in a set circle, like airplanes waiting in line to land. Over time, this programmed model begins to determine the way we think, feel and behave, without us being aware of it.
Since these models, figuratively speaking, live in the subtle body, they need a special approach: the same careful, kind and gentle attention that we paid to the physical body. Let's first pay attention to the alarm signals sent by the subtle body, while at the same time understanding that they represent only one aspect of our experience.

Learning to ride a horse

One of the similes that Tselwang Rindzin used to explain the relationship between the mind and the subtle body that distant day as we sat in the room in the fading light was that of the relationship between a rider and a horse. If the rider is too tense or puts too much pressure on the horse, the horse becomes out of control. If the horse behaves wildly, then the person in the saddle begins to get nervous.
I recently mentioned this analogy to a student of mine who loves horses and often rides through the woods. He said the comparison was very similar to the principle he learned to control a wild horse.
“The horse reacts to any potential danger by thrashing about pointlessly,” he said. - She rushes anywhere, in confusion and a state of panic. Therefore, the rider’s task is to convince the horse that there is no danger so that it calms down.”
“The best way to deal with an anxious horse,” he continued, “is to be kind and explain what you expect and want from him. Rest assured she understands. Walk slowly. Don't push when the horse is confused. Once she understands that everything is in order, you can loosen the reins. The horse feels satisfied by fulfilling your wishes correctly. This is how she learns."
The subtle body also learns: through kind, gentle guidance and a willingness to let go at the moment when it finds its own balance.

Continued here

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Absolute healing. Spiritual Healing in Tibetan Buddhism

LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE

ULTIMATE HEALING

THE POWER OF COMPASSION

Foreword by Lillian Too

Edited by Ailsa Cameron

WISDOM PUBLICATIONS Boston

LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE

Foreword by Lillian Tu

Edited by Elsa Cameron

By arrangement with Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm Street, Somerville, MA 02144, USA

Published in agreement with Wisdom Publications (USA) and the literary agency of Alexander Korzhenevsky

Translation from English: Alexander A. Narignani

© Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, 2001.

Preface

This is a truly amazing book. Its pages give the reader a personal presence, living words and instructions from the greatest lamas, radiating so much peaceful wisdom and healing radiance! This is a book that calls for spiritual healing to the hearts of those who are in pain; directing the attention of our mind to the exceptional wisdom of those healing methods that can give us complete and final recovery; a book for all the suffering, sick and disadvantaged.

In the same time " Absolute healing"is not just a collection of prayers designed to alleviate our bodily ailments. The teachings and practices included in this book can lead to a deeper understanding of life and death, impermanence and suffering. The understanding we gain will allow us to see ill health and disease from a broader, larger perspective. From this perspective, the concepts of karma, reincarnation and the characteristics of the next birth will take on new meaning for us, capable of comforting, empowering and ultimately healing.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a spiritual teacher whose compassion, kindness and incredible humility have become legendary among thousands of his followers and students around the world. At the age of four, Rinpoche was recognized as the reincarnation of a wise hermit yogi who lived and meditated in the area of ​​Laudo, in the Nepal Himalayas.

I had the great fortune of meeting Rinpoche in India in February 1997, and this event forever changed my attitude towards life. I arrived at the meeting with a substantial “load,” consisting of the negative baggage of pretense and self-interest weighing as much as a person’s life. At that time I smoked like a locomotive - I easily smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, and this continued for thirty years! In India, I was politely asked not to smoke in the presence of such a high lama, and I still remember how I had to sneak around the corner of the building every now and then to take a few fitful puffs. I felt incredibly stupid, but as anyone who has been a prisoner of nicotine addiction will tell you, it is not by choice that we smokers behave as if possessed. When you have a whole life lived with a cigarette behind you, it’s not so easy to give it all up.

And here it is, a miracle! After returning from India, I never touched a cigarette again and to this day I don’t smoke. It took several months before I realized that my quitting smoking had something to do with that meeting with Rinpoche. His blessing helped me give up this bad habit, while without exception, all the attempts to quit smoking that I had made before ended in nothing. However, any attempts to thank Rinpoche led to him completely denying the very fact that he had anything to do with what happened. He simply ignored any conversations on this topic - such is the measure of his modesty.

The meditations included in this book are especially relevant for those people whose lives are threatened by a serious illness. The practice of Medicine Buddha is extremely effective, because it can bring truly miraculous healing to ourselves and all those who are plagued by chronic diseases. By transmitting this knowledge and teachings to the world, Lama Zopa Rinpoche demonstrates how limitless his kindness and compassion are.

So, prepare yourself for healing, but also remember to make an effort to lift the veil of ignorance and free yourself from the bitterness of disappointment that prevents our minds from accepting the situation in which healing Not is happening. Eliminate karmic ignorance by meditating on these teachings, doing visualizations and reciting mantras. Rinpoche explains to us how understanding the nature of reality will enable us to perceive all suffering as containing within it the seeds of happiness. And this is where the sublime wisdom of this wonderful book lies.

May all who read the words of my Master find lasting happiness, may their suffering be eased, and may they be instantly healed of all illnesses and diseases.

Lillian Too,

Foreword by the editor of the English edition

When Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the spiritual head of the Foundation for the Maintenance of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), decided to teach the first healing training course at the Tara Institute (one of the FPMT centers in Melbourne, Australia) in August 1991, he already had more than twenty years of experience in helping people experiencing health problems. Along with the traditional herbal methods described in Tibetan medicine, Lama Zopa prescribed various meditations, mantra recitations and other healing practices of Tibetan Buddhism to thousands of people in need. Seeing more and more people turning to him for help, and realizing how much Tibetan Buddhism can give to all of them, especially those suffering from incurable diseases, Rinpoche decided to organize a week-long healing seminar.

Announced as “Practices and meditations to help heal the mind and body,” this course did not promise miraculous healing to anyone. Lama Zopa insisted that only those with life-threatening illnesses could take part in the workshop, and ultimately only six participants were allowed into the group: four with cancer, one with HIV, and one with multiple sclerosis. In addition to the main group, six additional participants were also present at the seminar, whose functions included organizational support for the educational process and preparation for holding similar seminars in the future.

On the morning of August 28, 1991, the seminar participants gathered in the meditation hall of the Tara Institute for the first lesson. Breaking from the traditional style of Buddhist teaching, in which the master gives teaching while sitting on a throne, Lama Zopa sat in a comfortable chair, facing the participants who were also sitting in chairs. Rinpoche greeted the crowd by saying, “I would like to thank you all for coming here. Together we will help each other in transforming consciousness and developing the most important thing in this life - a kind heart, which will allow us to benefit other living beings more effectively and on a deeper level. Thank you so much to each and every one of you for making this possible.”

Then all the participants, including Lama Zopa, introduced themselves and briefly discussed what each of them expected from this course. Rinpoche later noted that he had originally planned to devote most of the class time to meditation, however, as the participants talked about themselves, he was surprised to find that they were all more interested in finding inner peace than in getting rid of the illness that had struck them . This discovery inspired Rinpoche to delve deeper into Buddhist philosophy during his lectures.

During the week-long course, Rinpoche taught twice a day: in the morning and in the afternoon, usually for a short time, taking into account the physical condition of the participants. In his teachings, Rinpoche carefully avoided the use of Sanskrit terminology, preferring a more universal and accessible style of presentation. In addition to listening to lectures, participants performed gentle physical exercises, guided meditation, and group discussions every morning. Rinpoche introduced the audience to the basics of Buddhist philosophy, with special emphasis on the transformation of consciousness. He handed a copy of his book to everyone present. "Transforming problems into joy", explaining that it sets out all the main points that will be discussed during the seminar. In addition to this, Rinpoche personally led a number of group practices: white light healing meditation, mantra chanting, and deity visualization (especially Logyeonmy), walking around stupas, relics and texts, blessing the water consumed by the participants at the beginning and end of each lesson. Towards the end of the seminar, Rinpoche conducted personal interviews with all participants, discussing each person's personal situation and giving instructions on individual practice. Also, retiring in his apartment, Rinpoche conducted ritual practices - pujas for the health of group members.

TENDZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE

Title: Buy the book "Tibetan Sound Healing": feed_id: 5296 pattern_id: 2266 book_author: Rinpoche Tenzin book_name: Tibetan sound healing

TIBETAN SOUND HEALING

Seven practices for removing obstacles

acquiring beneficial qualities

and discovering your own innate wisdom

TENDZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE

TIBETAN

SOUND HEALING

Seven Practices for Removing Obstacles, Achieving Beneficial Qualities, and Unlocking Your Innate Wisdom

Editor Marcy Vaughan

Saint Petersburg. Uddiyana. 2008

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Tibetan sound healing. - Translation from English: St. Petersburg: Uddiyana, 2008. - 112 p.

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Bon is one of the oldest eastern spiritual traditions, continuously transmitted to this day. Through the book Tibetan Sound Healing, you can become familiar with the ancient practice of the sacred sounds of this tradition and use them to awaken the healing potential of your natural mind.

Published by:

Tenzin Wangyal. Tibetan Sound Healing. Seven Guided Practices for Clearing Obstacles, Accessing Positive Qualities, and Uncovering Your Inherent Wisdom. - Boulder: Sounds True, 2006

English editor Marcy Vaughan editions

Translator F. Malikova

Editor K. Shilov

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text or illustrations in any form is possible only with the written permission of the copyright holders.

ISBN 978-5-94121-040-4 © Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, 2006

© Uddiyana Cultural Center, translation, editing, design, 2008

Preface

I was born in India into a traditional Tibetan family. My mother and father fled from Tibet in whatever they were, leaving all their property there. Entering a monastery at a young age, I received a thorough education in the Bon Buddhist tradition. Bon is the oldest spiritual tradition in Tibet. It includes teachings and practices applicable in all areas of life: in relationships with the elemental forces of nature; in ethical and moral behavior; in developing love, compassion, joy and self-control; and also in the highest teachings of Bon - in dzognen, or “great perfection”. According to the traditional Bon view of his origin, many thousands of years before the birth of Buddha Shakyamuni in India, Buddha Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche appeared in this world and preached his teachings. Followers of Bon receive oral teachings and transmissions from teachers whose line of succession continues uninterrupted from ancient times to the present day.

My monastic education included eleven years of study in the Bon school of dialectics, culminating in the geshe degree, which can be considered equivalent to the Western Ph.D. degree in religion. While remaining in the monastery, I lived in close proximity to my teachers. One of my root teachers, Lopon Sangye Tendzin, recognized me as a tulka, or reincarnation, of the famous meditation master Kyungtrul Rinpoche.

The Buddhist Bon tradition is rich in methods designed to lead all beings to the path of liberation. I have the opportunity to introduce these precious teachings to the West thanks to the deep wisdom and kindness of my teachers and their tireless efforts to preserve these teachings.

While teaching my Western students, I learned a lot myself. Tibetans don't ask that many questions! Many Western students helped me by asking questions about the Dharma, the teaching of the path to liberation from suffering. The difficult task of introducing the Tibetan Dharma to the West, as contained in the Bon Buddhist tradition, raised very important questions for me. In the monastery I was familiar with one way of teaching the Dharma, but in the West I became accustomed to another. I decided to offer this practice of the five warrior syllables as a result of my work, my practice, my interaction with students and with Western culture. My way of teaching is the result of years of adaptation and reflection.

The fate of Dharma in the West is not going as well as it could, and this saddens me. I see people turning Buddhist ideas and philosophy into all sorts of crazy things. For some, Buddhism stimulates mental functions so much that they are ready to discuss it for years. So what's the result? What changes in the behavior of such a student? He endlessly repeats the same discussions about the Dharma in conversations with his teacher, with a new teacher, with other students, in other situations. As a result, many are marking exactly the same place where they started ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. The Dharma did not touch them deeply, did not really take root.

Often what we live with in our daily lives is at odds with the spirituality we strive for. These two areas, as a rule, do not intersect in any way. For example, when doing spiritual practice, we pray to develop compassion in ourselves, repeating: “May all living beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering.” But how true is your compassion in everyday life? How deeply has this desire penetrated your life? If you observe how you actually live, you will probably be disappointed because you do not find real compassion for your annoying neighbor or remember the recent argument with your aging parents. Even if you keep repeating, “May all living beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering,” someone who knows you well might ask, “When you mention ‘all living beings,’ do you really mean those five, and especially one of them?

This practice of the five warrior syllables can change your life. But you need to integrate your spiritual practice with all the circumstances and with all the encounters that happen in your life. If you can't do anything about the primitive struggle that you wage in your daily life, then there is no way you can change anything in the higher realm where you want to benefit all living beings. If you are unable to love the person you live with, or be kind to your parents, friends and co-workers, then you cannot love strangers, much less those who give you trouble. Where to start? Start with yourself. If you want to see changes in your life but are not seeing them, listen to clear instructions on this meditation practice and make this practice an integral part of your life.

It is my sincere wish that this simple and beautiful practice of the five warrior syllables, based on the highest teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Bon tradition of which I am a lineage holder, will benefit many in the West. Please accept it with my blessings and integrate it into your life. May she be your support in your desire to become kind and strong, insightful and awakened.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Charlottesville, Virginia, USA March, 2006

Introduction

At the heart of the spiritual path is the desire to know and be oneself, true and authentic. This is the thought of thousands of those who went before you and those who will come after you. According to the highest teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Bon tradition, our true self, which we strive for, is originally pure. Each of us, such as he is, is initially pure. Having heard this, you, of course, may think that these are some big words or philosophical reasoning, and, most likely, you yourself do not comprehend this now. After all, all your life you have been influenced by ideas and ideas about your uncleanness, and it is easier for you to believe that this is so. However, according to teachings, your true nature is pure. This is what you really are.

Why is it so difficult to discover, to experience this purity? Why is there so much confusion and suffering all around? The point is that our true self is too close to the mind that experiences suffering. It is so close that we rarely recognize it, and therefore it is hidden from us. One thing is good: the moment we begin to suffer or discover our delusion, we have the opportunity to awaken. Suffering shakes us and gives us the opportunity to awaken to deep truth. Most often, when we suffer, we feel the need to change something in order to live better. We change work, relationships, nutrition, personal habits, etc., etc. This inescapable need of ours to constantly improve something in ourselves and in our environment contributes to the development of a huge industry. Although these actions may bring temporary relief or improve your quality of life, they will never go deep enough to fundamentally eliminate your dissatisfaction. It simply means that no matter what self-improvement methods we try, no matter how useful they may seem, we will never fully become who we really are.

Our dissatisfaction is useful if it motivates us to ask more questions, but it is most useful if we ask the right question. According to the highest teaching of my tradition, the question to ask is: “Who is suffering? Who survives this test? This is a very important question, but if not asked correctly, it can lead to a false conclusion. If we ask, “Who is suffering?”, then we need to look directly and clearly into the inner space of our being. Many do not do this long enough or carefully enough to get to their innermost being.

Feeling dissatisfaction is a necessary stimulus for progress on the spiritual path. When combined directly with your meditation practice, it becomes a powerful mechanism to help you connect with the pure space of being. By using the five warrior syllables in your meditation practice, you truly become connected to your original pure self, and once you achieve this, you can generate trust and confidence in this true self, and your life can become a reflection and expression of spontaneous and beneficial actions emanating from this authentic and true self.

REVIEW OF FIVE SYLLABLES-WARRIORS

Our root awakened nature is not taken or created anywhere - it is already here. Just as the expanse of heaven is always present, although it may be obscured by clouds, so we are hidden behind rigid patterns that we mistakenly take for ourselves. The practice of the Five Warrior Syllables is a skillful method that can help us break free from our harmful and limiting patterns of body, speech and mind, and enable more spontaneous, creative and authentic self-expression. In this practice, we recognize what already exists, gain connection with it and faith in it. On a relative level, we begin to exhibit kindness, compassion, joy in others' successes, and impartiality - qualities that bring great mutual benefit in our relationships with ourselves and with others. Ultimately this practice brings us complete knowledge of our true self. In the teachings, such an experience is compared to a child recognizing his mother in a crowd - this is an instant, deep awareness of connection, a feeling of being at home. In this case one speaks of the natural mind, and this mind is pure. In the natural mind all perfect good qualities are naturally present.

There are many different ways we can practice meditation and connecting with our true selves. In my book about the five elements, Healing with Form, Energy and Light, I talk about using the forces of nature to maintain a deeper and more authentic connection with your essence. When we stand on the top of a mountain, we have the undeniable experience of vast open space. It is important to understand that such a feeling, an experience, is present in us not only when perceiving this exciting spectacle. Through grief we can become familiar with and develop resilience. Many of us go to the ocean for relaxation and fun, but the ocean's natural power can help us develop an open mind. We can turn to nature to draw on certain qualities and assimilate them, that is, take what we feel in physical contact and immerse it deeply so that our experience becomes an experience of energy and mind.

How often do we look at a flower and think: “How beautiful it is! How beautiful! At this moment it is useful to comprehend this quality of beauty internally. Feel it while looking at the flower. Don't just look at a flower or any other external object and think it is beautiful in itself. In this case, you only see your opinion that the flower is beautiful, but this has nothing to do with you personally. Bring this quality and feeling to deep awareness: “I am experiencing this. The flower is a support to help me perceive this,” rather than thinking that the flower is something external and different from you. In life we ​​have many favorable opportunities to experience this.

In the practice of the five warrior syllables, we do not start from the external. The approach here is to discover the inner space and move from there to spontaneous manifestation. Through sound we purify our habitual tendencies and obstacles and unite with the pure and open space of our being. This open space - the source of all goodness - is the basis of each of us. It is simply what we ourselves actually are - awakened, pure, buddhas.

There are five warrior syllables: A, OM, HUM, RAM and AZA, and each syllable symbolizes the quality of awakening. They are called "seed syllables" because they possess the essence of enlightenment. These five syllables are symbols of body, speech, mind, good qualities and enlightened deeds. Together they symbolize the true and fully manifested nature of our authentic self.

In practice, we sing each warrior syllable in turn. With each syllable, we focus on the corresponding body energy center, or chakra, and unite with the quality that corresponds to that syllable. We begin with the pure open space of being and end with the place of manifestation of actions. You begin each practice session, starting from your usual “I”, and transform all the circumstances and conditions of your life into open and pure ones: both those that you know about and those that are hidden from you. The first place you focus on is the frontal chakra. A chakra is simply a place in the body, an energy center in which many energy channels converge. These centers are located not on the surface, but deep in the body along the central channel - this light channel begins below the navel and goes up in the middle of the body, opening at the crown of the head. Different systems of practice use different chakras. In the practice of the five warrior syllables, syllable A is associated with the frontal chakra and the unchanging body, OM with the throat chakra and inexhaustible speech, HUM with the heart chakra and the quality of unclouded mind, RAM with the navel chakra and ripened good qualities, and DZA with mystery chakra and spontaneous actions.

Pronunciation Guide

A - pronounced as a long open "a"

OM - sounds like the English word home

HUM - the final sound is close to the nasal “n”

RAM - long open “a”

DZA - pronounced sharply and with emphasis

Simply by directing our attention to the location of the chakra, we activate it. Prana is a Sanskrit word that means "vital breath"; its Tibetan equivalent is lung, Chinese is qi, and Japanese is km. I call this level of experience the energetic dimension. Through the vibration of the sound of a particular syllable, we activate the ability to eliminate physical, emotional, energetic, and mental disorders that is present in prana, or vital breath. By integrating the mind, breath and sound vibration, we can come to experience some shifts and changes at the levels of our body, emotions and mind. By removing the clamps, and then recognizing our inner space, which is cleared and opened, and resting in it, we find ourselves in a higher state of consciousness.

Each seed syllable has a corresponding quality of light, a special color. A is white, OM is red, HUM is blue, RAM is red, and DZL is green. When pronouncing a syllable, we also imagine, imagine how light emanates from the chakra. This helps us dissolve the subtlest obscurations of the mind and experience the natural radiance of the awakened mind.

Through the powerful combination of focus on a specific place, the vibration of sound and the perception of light, we develop an increasingly clear and open presence, radiant with good qualities. These very qualities - love, compassion, joy and equanimity - become the support or gateway to an even deeper connection with one's self, an even deeper wisdom, with the very space from which all existence arises.

In the practice of the five warrior syllables, we distinguish between the starting point - the area of ​​dependence and dissatisfaction, several paths of entry - that is, the chakras, and our final destination - our primordial being.

EXTERNAL, INTERNAL AND SECRET LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE

We call these syllables warriors. The word "warrior" refers to the ability to defeat harmful forces. Sacred sound has the power to remove obstacles, as well as obstacles arising from poisonous emotions and obscurations of the mind, due to which we cannot recognize the nature of the mind and be our true self at any moment. You can consider obstacles at three levels: external, internal and secret. External obstacles are illnesses and other unfavorable circumstances. Whatever the external causes and conditions, the practice of the five warrior syllables serves as a means to help us overcome the suffering we experience due to these circumstances. Through this practice we also eliminate internal obstacles, that is, harmful emotions: ignorance, anger, attachment, jealousy and pride. Also, with the help of this practice, you can overcome secret obstacles: doubt, hope and fear.

Even if external circumstances hinder you most in life, ultimately you need to cope with them yourself, on your own, with your own help. If you overcome such obstacles, you still have the question: “Why do I keep finding myself in these circumstances? Where do all these active harmful emotions come from? Even if it seems that the outside world has become hostile to you or that some person is plotting intrigues against you, one way or another it stems from you. Perhaps you realize how many emotions, needs and addictions are hidden within you. How deep within you the source of these needs and dependencies lies, you cannot even imagine, and therefore we need a method that would allow us to establish a deep and intimate connection with ourselves, a method that directs the powerful tool - clear and open awareness - to the root of our suffering and confusion.

We usually only notice a problem when it becomes glaring. When problems are still subtle, we are not able to notice them. I can’t imagine sitting in a crowded café where everyone at the tables is deep in conversation and hearing something like this: “The real difficulty in my life is that I have a fundamental ignorance and tend to think of my self as unchangeable.” and independent." Or: “I have a lot of difficulties. I am constantly exposed to the five poisons.” Most likely, you will hear: “Not everything is going smoothly for me. My wife and I are arguing."

If difficulties manifest themselves in your external life, then you cannot help but notice them. As you experience them, you may even realize that you are partly creating them yourself. But the seeds of these difficulties are very difficult to recognize and must be considered a hidden obstacle. It is called “secret” only because it is more difficult to understand, since it is hidden from us.

What is your secret difficulty? It usually takes time for your secret difficulty to mature and become an internal difficulty, which in turn matures and then becomes your external difficulty. When it becomes external, you share it with all your family and friends! As long as it remains secret or internal, you do not tell anyone about it and others may not have any idea about it. You probably don’t even know about it yourself. But when it becomes external, you, even without meaning to, drag others into it.

If you consider the nature of your problem as it manifests itself in the outside world, it is clearly an external obstacle. But if you see who created it, from what emotion or circumstance it comes, then you can, for example, realize: “This is all because of my greed.” By considering and thinking about this aspect - greed, you are working with the inner level of obstacle. The question “who is greedy?” directed to the secret level. "He who is greedy" becomes a secret delusion, greed becomes an internal hindrance, and the manifestation of greed in the outer world - whatever your problem is - becomes an external obstacle.

What do these obstacles, hindrances and obscurations hide from us? On a secret level, they obscure wisdom from us. At the internal level, they obscure good qualities. In external manifestations, they interfere with turning these good qualities onto others. When these obstacles, hindrances and obscurations are removed, the spontaneous expression of good qualities occurs naturally.

At the most subtle or secret level of existence, each of the five warrior syllables reveals a corresponding wisdom: the wisdom of emptiness, the mirror-like wisdom, the wisdom of equality, the wisdom of discrimination and the wisdom of all-fulfillment. At the inner level, good qualities are revealed. I mean the "enlightened qualities": love, compassion, joy and equanimity. They are also called “four immeasurables.” Since the good qualities are innumerable, for the purposes of this practice I urge you to develop a deep connection with these four. Everyone needs them. We are more aware of the need for good qualities than for wisdom. By uniting with these good qualities, we can unite with the deeper source of wisdom within ourselves, and also act for the benefit of others by manifesting these qualities in our actions on the outer level.

Recognizing the need for love, compassion, joy and equanimity in our lives, but not uniting, turning inward, with these qualities, we often associate this need with material things. For some, love may be about finding a partner. Joy may mean buying a house or getting a good job, buying new clothes or a special car. We often experience our needs as fundamentally material: “I need to get this to be happy.” We strive to acquire or accumulate these benefits in a material sense. But through the practice of meditation, we begin to look within and discover a more essential place within ourselves where all these qualities are already present.

At first, the practice of the “four immeasurables” can be approached from a worldly point of view. We need to take as a starting point what is most real for each of us. We start with the specific circumstances of our lives. We may admit to ourselves that we are irritated by our work colleagues or that we have lost our sense of admiration for our own children. If you understand your most primal circumstances and combine them with practice, you can make those circumstances a bridge to discovering the good qualities within yourself. These qualities then become a bridge to wisdom. There is always room for growth in this practice. You shouldn’t think like this: “I found my soul mate, someone I can love - this is my insight.” Your practice doesn't end there. At the same time, you really want to see the fruits of your meditation manifest in your relationships and in your creative expression.

Therefore, we begin the practice of meditation starting from our suffering and confusion rather than from the purity of our being. The difficulty we combine with practice serves as the energy, or fuel, that will give strength to our path. Clearing our hindrances by drawing on the power of the five warrior syllables gives us the opportunity to glimpse the clear sky of our being. As a result of the disappearance of these hindrances, wisdom is revealed and good qualities are acquired. This is the way of a warrior. The spontaneous manifestation of good qualities in our lives is a direct result of meditation, just as confidence arises naturally as we become more familiar with our true nature.

SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS OF MEDITATION

When engaging in meditation practice, I encourage you to not only set immediate goals for yourself, but also to understand the ultimate, or distant, goal. The long-term goal of meditation practice is to cut off the root, which is ignorance, and achieve liberation, or Buddhahood, for the benefit of all beings, but the immediate goal may be something more ordinary. What would you like to transform in your life? The short-term goal can be anything from eliminating an underlying condition of suffering in your life to developing beneficial, healing qualities that are beneficial to yourself, your family, and your local community.

You can start your practice with the simplest things. Reflect on your life to understand what you would like to transform. In this practice of the five warrior syllables, I suggest working with something personal. Let's say you are unhappy in life. From time to time think: “I have many reasons to be happy, I just need to focus on these things.” This turns your thoughts in a more positive direction, and it works for, say, a few hours or a few weekends. But by the middle of next week, you somehow return to the usual sad feeling of life. Let's say you are drinking tea with someone and talking. This helps for a few hours, but then you return to your previous state. Or you go to a psychotherapist, and this also helps, but then you again fall into a joyless mood. Somehow you find yourself back in the same cage from which you can’t completely escape. It turns out that your inner dissatisfaction is deeper than the methods you are trying to use. There is a possibility of experiencing your true self, and this experience is greater than any problem that comes your way in life. The practice of meditation helps to recognize and believe in this sense of being again and again. By pronouncing the warrior syllables, becoming comfortable with them and remaining in the inner space that opens up in you as a result, you begin to trust that deep area within yourself that is not only pure, open and free from any problems, but is also the source of all good qualities , spontaneously appearing from there when you encounter difficulties in your life.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK AND CD

Over the next five chapters, I will describe each of the warrior syllables and how to practice using them to help yourself and others. After reading each chapter, you can pause to listen to the CD and practice with audio guided meditations that correspond to a specific syllable. This way you can become more familiar with this syllable and more deeply integrate what you have read and thought directly with your experiences. This is the traditional Buddhist way of moving along the path: reading or listening to teachings, reflecting on what you read or heard, and then combining what you have learned with your own meditation practice. The last audio track on the disc is a complete practice of the five warrior syllables.

I have included a chapter in the book on how to establish a regular meditation practice, and finally I provide a recording of meditation instructions similar to those on the CD that accompanies this book. The Appendix contains instructions on tsalung exercises, which I strongly recommend studying and practicing. I advise you to start each meditation session with these five tsalung exercises in your daily life. They will help you identify and remove obstacles, hindrances and obscurations that prevent you from being in meditation.

First syllable - A

CHAPTER FIRST

Chant the self-arising sound A again and again. Send out brilliant white light from the frontal chakra. Secret karmic obscurations dissolve in the source, Clear and open, like a cloudless clear sky. Stay without changing or complicating anything. All fears have been overcome and unwavering confidence has been gained. May I perceive the wisdom of emptiness!

CHAPTER FIRST

Space fills our entire body and the entire world around us. Space underlies all matter, every person, the entire physical universe. Therefore we can speak of space as the basis or field in which the movement of all other elements takes place and from which both the familiar world with all its problems and the sacred world of enlightenment appear.

According to Dzogchen teachings, the highest teachings of the Bon Buddhist tradition, space is the very basis of our existence. As such, it is unchangeable. This dimension of being is initially pure. We call it the wisdom body of all Buddhas, the dimension of truth, or dharmakaya.

To recognize our open and pure being, we first turn to space. Having a deep connection with yourself is always a matter of connecting with space. The quality of space is openness. It takes time to realize it and become familiar with the open state of being. At the body level, this pure space can be invaded by illness and pain. If we talk about energy, then this space can be occupied by interference stemming from harmful emotions. In the mind, this space can be occupied by obscurations such as doubt or constant movement of thoughts.

They say about sound A that it is a spontaneously arisen, pure sound. According to Dzogchen teachings, the use of sound practice has less to do with its quality and more to do with its essence. When we make a sound, there is a level of awareness in that sound. Therefore, when we sing A again and again, we listen to the sound. It's similar to a breathing practice. We focus on the breath: the breath is us, the breath is our life, the life force, the breath is our soul. Sound cannot be made unless you breathe. Breath and sound are very closely related. Therefore, when we pronounce a sound, we turn to the breath and vibration of the sound itself. In some ways it is very simple: the speaker is the listener, and the listener is the one who speaks. In this way we can experience sound as self-arising.

When you pronounce the sound A, that sound has a mind aspect and a breath or body aspect. If, while breathing, you direct your attention to this breath, then the mind and breath become united. In the Tibetan tradition we say that the mind is like a rider and the breath is like a horse. The path along which the horse moves in this practice will be a series of chakras of the body, and the armor of the rider will be the seed syllables-warriors. This armor protects the rider - the alert mind - from falling into hope and fear and from slavishly following the rational thinking that tries to control our experience.

When you chant A again and again, the mind in that sound, thanks to the strength, protection and vibration of A, floats astride the prana or breath, and the physical, internal and subtle obstacles that prevent you from recognizing your unchanging essence are eliminated. This means that as a result of practicing the sound A, you open up deep inside. You feel it. If you do it right, you will feel this openness. The moment you feel open is a great success. You have discovered the basis, which is called the universal basis, kunzhi, which is openness.

When you chant A, bring your attention to the frontal chakra and pronounce the sound very clearly. The first level of unification concerns physical sound. Then feel one with the energy, or vibration, of that sound. Visualize white light emanating from your frontal chakra, supporting the most subtle dimension of existence. A is a symbol of space, the eternal body, the unchanging body. The moment we sing A, we want to feel, to be in touch with openness and spaciousness. Thanks to vibration A, we begin to realize what is bothering us and free ourselves from it, and due to the dissolution of interference, we gradually open, open, open, open, open, open. Deep obscurations go away. When this happens, a certain sense of inner space begins to emerge. The impact of A increases as you continue to practice.

And it helps you recognize the unchanging state of awareness and being. Its analogy is a clear, clean, cloudless sky. Whatever overcomes you - despondency or excitement, or obsessive thoughts - they all look like clouds. Through sound, vibration and awareness, these clouds gradually dissipate and the open sky is revealed. Every time release of an emotion, obstacle or obscurity begins, it opens up space. There is simply an experience of openness. What happens if you remove everything from the table? Space will open up. Then you can put a vase of flowers on the table. What does A do? It makes it clear. Clarifies. It opens up space.

It is important to know that in this practice we are not creating space, developing anything, or improving ourselves. There comes a moment when, through our experience, space simply opens up and we recognize that it is already present - a pure open space of being. Now you just need to stay, without changing or complicating anything. This is the Dzogchen approach. This is exactly what is said in the higher teachings. Meditation is a process of becoming familiar with openness. Therefore, in this practice we try to feel the sound, the energy of sound and the space of sound. Having connected with space, you abide and rest in it.

Perhaps when you begin your practice, you do not feel that any particular obstacle is stopping you. There is always such a hindrance, but you may not realize it. Just chant A again and again, and then remain in open awareness. Or you may know that there is some kind of disturbance or interference, so when you sing, feel the vibration of the sound A and feel how the sound dispels the interference that you have brought to your consciousness. The A vibration is like a weapon that cuts off duality, cuts off the wanderings of your rational mind, cuts off your doubts, hesitations and lack of clarity. Anything that obscures openness begins to loosen and dissolve into space, and as it dissolves, your clarity increases more and more. You connect with pure space because the emotion you brought to consciousness has been transformed. When the interference dissolves, you feel a certain space. This is the space you want to know. You want to know this space and rest in it without changing anything. This is an introduction to openness, to the limitless space of being. By combining your dissatisfaction directly with the practice and saying the sound A again and again, the energy of that dissatisfaction can dissolve and through this dissolution bring you into a clear and open space of your being.

You may ask, “What does liberation from my fear or my anger have to do with the higher meaning of the Dzogchen concept of abiding in openness, abiding in the nature of the mind?” If your main goal is to become happy in life and free yourself from this or that trouble, perhaps you do not set yourself the goal of remaining in the nature of the mind without changing anything. You don't know what it means to remain without changing anything. Your desire and intention is simply not to suffer from fear or anger, and therefore the immediate goal of your meditation is to get rid of it. Many Tantric teachings say: “When desire manifests itself, turn the desire into a path. When anger manifests itself, turn the anger into path.” Whatever crippling emotion, obstacle, or difficulty you take on—no matter how personal it may seem—your difficulty becomes your path. That's what the teachings say. This means that you can achieve higher awakening with direct help from your problem.

This is not a generally accepted approach. What usually happens is that anger, when manifested, creates difficulties in your life. He encourages you to retaliate, makes you utter unkind and abusive words. You go too far and hurt yourself and others. Instead of allowing anger to be destructive, use it as a path. This is exactly what we do through this practice. So every time you start practice, bring to your consciousness what you want to transform in your life. Look at this and say: “You are my way. I'm going to transform you my way. These circumstances will help me in spiritual advancement.” And that's exactly how it is.

When starting a meditation practice, it is important to find out what is stopping you: determine its place in your body, in your emotions, in your mind. Try to come as close as possible to the direct experience of this obscuration. Let me give you an example from everyday life: a person is afraid of relationships that impose some kind of responsibility. You can approach this analytically and explore the possible reasons for your fear. Perhaps your first relationship was destructive and you needed to end it, resulting in you hurting the other person. The consequences of your actions always affect you in one way or another, but in this practice we do not analyze our actions and their consequences. I don't mean that analysis has no value: it's just not our approach. Here the approach is very simple. Feel your fear, because you created it. He has matured. We don't think about how it matured. Instead, we directly address the experience of this fear in our body, prana, and mind. Bring this fear vividly home to consciousness. Again, the point is not to think and analyze the problem, but simply to face it head on while experiencing it at this very moment.

Then chant A again and again. Let the vibrations of this sacred sound work. With this sound you clarify, clarify, clarify. Something is happening. There is some liberation taking place. Even if the relief is very small, it is wonderful. When you chant A and clarify, a window, a space, opens. A small opening appears in the middle of the clouds. Perhaps you have never seen such a gap before. Through it you see a glimpse of clear sky. This piece may be very small, but it is clear sky. Our ordinary experience of A will be a glimpse of openness, of clarification. The endless and boundless sky is beyond the clouds and you see a glimpse of it. This is your gate.

When you do practice with A, when you feel a moment of openness, that is your gate. You can change your usual position in the middle of the clouds, because you can see these dark clouds and see how a small gap appears. The moment you see this space, direct your attention to it. This means you are changing your location. The moment you see a glimpse of space is the beginning of your closer acquaintance with that space. You do not intend to be distracted by seeing this space. You intend to simply remain in the experience of space. The more you remain without changing anything, the more space opens; the more you stay, the more it opens; the more you stay, the more it opens.

When these clouds clear, you rest on a foundation that was previously unknown to you. This base is open space. You have freed yourself from something and are in the opened space without changing anything. Recognize in this space the mother, the buddha, the most sacred place you can ever find within yourself. Recognize in this space the gateway to all existence. L's special experience is being in emptiness. By recognizing this sacred space within yourself, you receive the empowerment of the dharmakaya, the wisdom body of all the buddhas, the dimension of truth. This is the highest fruit that practice brings.

So, going back to practice, you work with A. Because A removes some obscuration, it opens up space. It is very important. It opens up this space. Then remain without changing anything. You combine your suffering, or dissatisfaction, or anger with practice, chant A again and again, dissolve obscurations and rest in the space that has opened up to you. This space may not be exciting. The desire to get rid of something is very common. Everyone wants to get rid of something. “I want to get rid of sadness. I don't want to be unhappy." Since some space that opens up in the practice of meditation is still unfamiliar and does not evoke joy, there may be a tendency to look for the next problem.

I emphasize that we are talking here about the moment of your contact with the experience of the primordial purity of being. You find yourself in it because of your personal experience. This is the most effective way. By doing this, the benefits are twofold. First, you develop a very clear awareness of what it means to remain, to rest, without changing anything. Secondly, by gaining a very clear awareness of what it means to abide, you have a powerful means of overcoming internal obstacles. The obstacles have changed. You cannot truly abide unless they are changed, and you cannot change them unless you abide. So these two sides are interconnected.

Once you have a glimpse of openness in practice and the ability to abide in it, you are able to perceive wisdom. Each of the five syllables is associated with one of the five wisdoms. The wisdom of emptiness is associated with A. You gain the ability to perceive the wisdom of emptiness or something close to it. Why? Because you have delusion. In fact, your delusion is helping you. You probably won't be able to perceive the wisdom of emptiness, you won't be able to stay in a clear space if you don't experience this obscuration. Therefore, your delusion becomes a path, a very important means of realizing the wisdom of emptiness.

With the sound A we remove obstacles in order to discover the immutability of the basis of our being. And it helps us to recognize our unchanging being and abide in it. A is the symbol of the unchanging body of all Buddhas. After reading this, you may be thinking, “Got it: A implies immutability.” But if you turn to your experience, you may notice that everything is constantly changing. Your personal experience completely contradicts this definition of A\ Your body is constantly changing, and your thoughts change even faster than your body. However, if we can look directly into our being, we will see that at the center of all changes there is an unchanging dimension. Through this practice we try to connect with this unchanging dimension. Of course, trying to connect is not the same as connecting, because trying is also a kind of change! And the thinking process can take us very far. So stop it. Stop talking to yourself. Stop following your thoughts. Be! Rest in peace! Find more space within yourself. The goal you are heading towards is to discover more space within yourself. You do not strive to activate your thinking more and more. Create a supportive environment to focus on discovering the sense of unchanging being. Find a comfortable position and then use Method A.

The confidence you gain from successfully practicing A is called “enduring confidence.” Your very perception of your own being can be affected by this practice to such an extent that even when a change occurs, you do not change. You have discovered the stability of open awareness, the confidence of an unchanging body. The best way to develop confidence is to eliminate everything that prevents you from having a direct experience of the open and clear sky of being or obscures it from you. What may begin as a general idea and then become a brief glimpse of an experience gradually matures with deeper familiarity. Lasting confidence comes with a certain degree of maturity in the experience of openness. Openness becomes authentic. Developing confidence is not so much about doing something, but as you continue to connect with openness in your practice and dwell in that openness more and more, abiding confidence will become a natural outcome.

This is our practice. We turn to the highest level of Dharma with difficulties of the most insignificant level. We begin with a very specific awareness of the life circumstances we want to transform, a direct and deeply personal sense of our confusion, and by using the method of singing A, directly experiencing in this moment, we transform this state into a path. Through the power of sacred sound we receive a glimpse of openness and, realizing that this openness is the pure and fundamental nature of our being, we abide in it without changing anything - openly, clearly, sensitively, confidently.

LISTEN TO SOUND TRACK 1 FIRST SYLLABLE – A

CHAPTER TWO

Second syllable - OM

Chant the self-arisen sound OM again and again. Send radiant red light from the throat chakra. All knowledge and experiences of the “four immeasurables” Arise like sunlight in a clear, cloudless sky. Stay here - in clarity, radiance, completeness. All states of hope have been overcome and endless confidence has been gained. May I perceive mirror-like wisdom!

Just as A connects us to the space of being, OM connects us to the awareness, or light, in that space. If you are able to feel connected to the inner space, the experience of openness naturally gives a feeling of completeness. This inner space that has opened up to you is not emptiness, but a space of fullness, aliveness and receptivity that can be felt as a sense of completion. Usually our sense of completion or satisfaction is relative. “I feel good because today I finally got my car fixed.” “I feel so good because today is a wonderful day!” All these are relative, changeable reasons for experiencing satisfaction. Feeling contentment is wonderful, but it is important not to depend on external things that give us this feeling, because they are not permanent.

At times you may feel deeply satisfied, although there is no particular reason for this. And at times, many reasons can cause you to feel this way: you got a new job, your relationship is going well, you are healthy. Whatever the reasons for your feeling of satisfaction, they imply a subtle and constant hope. At any moment, the feeling of satisfaction has some other facet, some shadow. "I'm doing well as long as I have this job." “I feel so good!”, you say, smiling, and the subtext is: “I feel so good, and I want you to be with me always” or “I’m happy as long as my health is fine.” This is our subconscious dialogue that subverts our position. One way or another, we are always balancing on the edge. Our satisfaction is always at risk.

The sound OM is clear in itself. This means that clarity does not stem from any reason or circumstances, but the space of our existence is clear in itself. OM is the symbol of this clarity. Through the vibration of OM, we purify all our circumstances and reasons for feeling full. We delve into all our reasons and circumstances until we achieve a certain feeling of satisfaction that is not caused by any reason. Through this practice we explore what contentment without cause is like.

When you sing this syllable, you feel some pleasure of releasing something. After this feeling of relief, you may feel some disorientation. You may not understand what to do because the space is less familiar to you than the thoughts or feelings or sensations that previously filled it. The purpose of this meditation is to know space and stay there, and with this support you can rest deep enough in it to get a little glimpse of light. Wow! You feel "Wow!" because the light comes naturally from space. Why does light spontaneously arise from this space? Because the space is open. The light that permeates this openness is the light of our awareness. We experience light as brightness, clarity and energy.

At this stage there is an opportunity for the infinite potential of awareness to be perceived directly. However, at first, most often you need to get used to the experience of relief. Although you are so tired of feeling sad, or confused, or angry, when you release this emotion, you probably feel a little confused. If you become too confused, you will not be able to recognize the experience of OM. You may open up, but then quickly close again and miss the opportunity to experience clear and vivid awareness.

If we consider the progress of this practice of the five warrior syllables, then what happens when the inner space opens? We make the experience possible. We give ourselves the opportunity to fully experience ourselves. We provide the opportunity to fully experience the whole world in this space. The existing potential allows you to experience everything in its entirety. But often we do not give way to this fullness, because the moment we have a little openness, we become afraid. We do not recognize this openness for what it is. We are closing immediately. We close ourselves, occupying this space. This is where loneliness and alienation begin. Somehow, we fail to recognize ourselves or connect deeply with ourselves in this space. As long as space remains unoccupied, we feel uncomfortable. Many people become depressed after losing a husband, wife, or friend because the people they were truly connected to become symbols of light and brightness in their lives. When their loved ones pass away, they feel that the light is leaving. They sense light in others, not in the space itself. They do not fully recognize the light in themselves.

When we pay attention to our throat and chant OM, we not only experience openness: in this openness we experience complete awakening. When we are open and feel this full awakening, we feel completeness in our experience. Most of us are unfamiliar with the feeling of fully experiencing space and light. We know how to experience the feeling of completeness using other people or objects. Through practice with OM we try to become familiar with how to experience the fullness of space and light. Often we are not aware of our fullness at this moment. Therefore, integrate with the practice of OM any feeling, or lack of fullness, or emptiness that you may experience. Directly feel your body, emotions and mindset. Having felt all this directly, without analysis, chant OM again and again, and let the vibrational power of OM dissipate and dissolve these patterns that support the experience of lack or lack of completeness. As you experience release and opening, imagine the red light in your throat chakra supporting your openness and awareness. Then rest in the brightness of each moment.

Feeling complete openness, you feel full and satisfied. There is nothing missing, there is nothing missing. In this practice, when you feel the vastness of space, this space is not empty, not dead. The space is perfect. The space is full of possibilities, light, awareness. Here is a comparison with the shining of the sun in a cloudless sky. The light of our awareness fills our experience of openness. There is light in this space. In our openness there is awareness, and this awareness is light.

When you chant OM, feel the space and feel the light. Develop familiarity with this through this practice. Strive for the experience: “I am perfect just the way I am.” If A connects us to the space of being, then OM connects us to the light inside this space. The sun is shining in a cloudless sky. The space of our being is not empty at all, but full of light, filled with the light of awareness, the endless light of our ability to perceive, the natural radiance of mind-wisdom.

The seed syllable OM connects us with mirror-like wisdom. How to understand mirror-like wisdom? If you look perfect and stand in front of a mirror, it does not express its opinion: “No, this mirror is only for those who need to fix something on themselves.” If your hair is tousled, the mirror will not say: “Yes, this is where you want to go!” I am at your service". No, the mirror does not evaluate anything. The mirror doesn't care what gender you are, what color your skin is, or whether you look tired or rested. The mirror is pure and reflects what is.

Mirror-like wisdom is awareness that perceives everything visible as a mirror does - without judgment. Whatever arises is clear, bright, alive and does not affect the original purity of your mind. Take the airport bathroom mirror as an example. Does it ever say: “I’m so tired of all these people who come here so tired. Just look at them!”? And on the contrary, doctors, teachers, and all those who deal with large numbers of people every day are greatly affected by these people, and every day they have less and less mirror-like wisdom left. The world influences us. Perhaps it affects you too often or too easily. You can become so vulnerable that life becomes very difficult. As life becomes more complex, your access to mirror-like wisdom becomes increasingly difficult. If they talk to you, it affects you. If they don't talk to you, this also affects you. Almost everything affects you. When you chant OM again and again, you remove the interference from your awareness and connect with the clear light of your natural mind. Thanks to A, you are in the experience of immutability. Thanks to OM you are in clarity. You are in awareness.

At this stage of the practice, you direct your attention to the sun shining in the sky. The space is not only open: there is pure energy in it. The sacred syllable OM is a symbol of the inexhaustible speech of all enlightened ones. Inexhaustible means endless: it is endlessly arising movement, energy, awareness, clear light.

The nature of the mind is clarity. If even the most darkened mind knows how to look directly at itself at every moment, it discovers that the very nature of the mind is always pure. At any moment the mind may be overwhelmed by waves of emotions, but the nature of the mind itself is always pure. There is no misconception there. Misconception appears. If for you manifestation, visibility is everything, then you are mistaken. If the basis, the foundation, that is, space, is more important than its constantly changing visible manifestation, then you are not mistaken.

Now that, thanks to OM, the space is clear, you are in this space, feeling its fullness. Try not to bring logic and reasoning into this feeling of completeness. Just be in fullness. Try to stay with this feeling of completeness without any reasoning.

OM implies infinite, limitless good qualities. If these qualities could be reduced to a single concept, it would be compassion. As I have already said, space is not empty in the sense that there is something missing in it: the nature of space is compassion. In this sense, the space is full and perfect. In Buddhism, wisdom and compassion are compared to the two wings of a bird. For a bird to fly, it needs two wings. To complete the path to awakening, you need to know the fullness of space. Wisdom is A, space. Compassion is OM, quality. If we talk about a single good quality, then this quality is compassion. However, the qualities of the mind are infinite. For example, there are the “four immeasurables”: love, compassion, joy and equanimity. We can name many other good qualities, such as generosity, clarity, openness and peace. Traditionally they talk about eighty-four thousand good qualities of the mind.

All these good qualities, all this beauty, all this perfection are within us. The reason why we do not realize these qualities at any moment is because our connection with open space is difficult. This is where practicing with A helps us. If there is no space, the qualities will not manifest. Therefore, space is at the core of everything. In the material world, space is very important to create a lighting system. The architect needs to organize the space to get the right lighting. Without proper organization of space, you will not get light. Having a lot of space can bring out many positive qualities. If we talk about personal experience, then whether we feel these beneficial qualities in ourselves depends on our connection with space, on the measure of its comprehension.

Nowadays, many methods of psychology, psychotherapy and healing methods are used. In most cases, these methods are based on creating thoughts. You create ideas, some kind of understanding based on thinking. The approach here is not the same. Here we find the basis. If there is space, there is light. Further, if there is light, a unification of light and space occurs - there is a radiant manifestation. These shining manifestations are not thoughts or the creation of thoughts. It's not happiness that I have a car. I'm just happy because of the space and light. So instead of improving or clarifying our thoughts, we access the most fundamental place of our being.

In the relative world we seek happiness. Will staying without any changes and being in this luminous space help you become more satisfied with your work? Yes. If you don’t have confidence in this yet, you need to believe in it a little, take this small obstacle of faith and try the practice. You have nothing to lose. You can say: “Well, you offered me another hour to remain in the nature of mind, and nothing happened!” Perhaps inner joy did not come because you worked too hard at work. But the opportunity is there, and by continuing to practice, you can get good results.

With A we conquer fear. OM conquers hope. Fear is associated with space. Hope is about clarity. Hope comes from a certain sense of lack of perfection. When you chant OM again and again, try to feel that everything is perfect. "I am perfect." Here are simple words: “I am perfect just the way I am.” Devote your meditation to feeling complete. Naturally, you will feel less and less hope, less and less need for something else. Thus, you have the opportunity to overcome the state of hope. We all need some kind of hope in life, but sometimes we hope too much, and hope itself turns into our main suffering.

In the open space of our being, love, compassion, joy and equanimity are constantly being improved. This means that they arise instantly and by themselves. In the “dependent” space, these and other qualities of enlightenment are not constantly improved. A dependent space exists when you are so caught up in your thoughts and emotions that your mind is not open. As a result, even your body is squeezed. Although the qualities of perfection are always present, they are not in your experience: they are hidden. But if you are open, there is joy, there is love. We all need to know this. This should become part of our relative wisdom, the common sense of the average person: joy (or any other of the perfect qualities) can be experienced without any reason at this very moment. How many times has each of us thought: “Oh, if only I were twenty years younger!” or “Oh, if only I had more money!” Upon closer examination, you can see that these circumstances - being younger or richer - do not guarantee happiness. Often, when people see a photograph of themselves from twenty years ago, they think: “But I was just handsome. But I wasn't happy about it. I was constantly unhappy with my appearance." There is no specific reason that we can point to and say, “This always brings joy.”

On the level of our relative, everyday life, it is very useful to become more familiar with the experience of fullness in each given moment. We would all be much happier in life if we followed this simple logic: “I have everything right at this moment!” We can begin to confront the logic of our usual way of thinking. Whenever you find yourself searching for the reason for your unhappiness, just look at the sun shining in the open sky and remember that your happiness has nothing to do with reasons. Think: “I am perfect as I am at this very moment.” Remind yourself that you don't want to be caught up in illusions about causes. This can help you gain faith in a more correct perception of yourself and, moreover, reduce your dependence on illusion.

So what choice do you have? The choice is to be happy right now. Sometimes it works. With the help of such arguments you open up, and you succeed. Change your thinking, look clearly and directly at this very moment, and in five minutes you will feel better. Why do you feel better? Because you stop holding on to limited logic. What we call stupidity is supported by logic that does not help us. Therefore, we need to be aware of when we apply this logic and interrupt this process. Stop! The moment we stop, we feel better. This is very simple wisdom.

As explained in the Dzogchen teachings, spontaneously perfect qualities are already present. We do not create them and do not receive them from anywhere. But how directly you access these qualities is another story. To what extent you are able to clarify with the help of A is the first step, the first stage of development. The degree of your openness will determine how clearly you will experience spontaneous love, compassion, joy and equanimity - the fullness of OM.

If you close your eyes and allow yourself to feel joy, you will feel it. You'll be surprised how easy it is to feel joy in your heart when you allow yourself to do so. Often we do not allow ourselves the simple, direct experience of joy. “When he changes, I will be glad.” “When the children grow up, I will calm down.” You always have reasons, lots of reasons, and over time this list of reasons does not get shorter. This list is only getting larger and more thorough - now it uses bold font and underlining. To prevent this from happening, think that the positive qualities are already present, that they lie at the core of your being, and trust those qualities.

As we continue the practice of the five warrior syllables, favorable signs or results appear: some of them are traditionally called “ordinary” - these are the results that affect our daily life, and other results are called “special” - they more subtle, and they can be attributed to the results that affect meditation. Through practice with OM, our ordinary, sensory perception can become clear and vivid. The special result is the ability to dwell in clarity, which has to do with primordial awareness and not with objects.

As a natural result of this practice, you gain boundless confidence, a feeling of completeness at the deepest level. Boundless confidence is the experience that all good qualities are endlessly improved in the space of being free from dependence. At this very moment, you, as you are, are in openness, clarity and radiate all good qualities.

LISTEN TO SOUND TRACK 2 SECOND SYLLABLE – OM

Third syllable - HUM

Chant the non-dual sound HUM again and again. Send out brilliant blue light from your heart chakra. The warmth of the wisdom of the “four immeasurables”

Spreads like sunlight in all directions. Let non-dual wisdom shine with the qualities you need. All distortions due to doubt are overcome and confidence free from delusion is gained. May I embrace the wisdom of equality!

As our meditation practice progresses, we become more comfortable with openness. Thanks to the A vibration, we remove obstacles that obscure the open space of being, and, being in the space that has opened up to us, we develop the ability to trust this open space. We connect with our fullness and dissolve any feeling of lack of anything using the vibration of OM. When we are in the vivid experience of each moment, there is confidence in the clarity of space. Now we turn our attention to the heart. By keeping our attention on the heart chakra, we discover that the open space of being and the light of our awareness are inseparable. According to Dzogchen teachings, the unity or inseparability of openness and awareness spontaneously gives rise to good qualities. In other words, when you feel full, good qualities appear on their own. You are happy in yourself if you feel complete. If you feel complete, everything in life goes smoothly. By practicing the five warrior syllables, by activating the syllable HUM and focusing on the heart, we develop good qualities, realizing that they are already present.

As discussed in the chapter on the syllable OM, space is not just empty: its nature is compassion. To complete our path to awakening, we need to realize the fullness of space. One must feel the limitless good qualities that arise spontaneously. By directing attention to the heart, we develop a clear intention to experience good qualities. This is followed by a traditional four-line prayer, in which pure thoughts are expressed - “four immeasurable ones.” Buddhists have been chanting this prayer for hundreds of years. The words of the prayer speak of pure thoughts: love, compassion, joy and impartiality. As you seek to connect with these four qualities, you can say the following prayer as a support.

May all living beings find happiness and the cause of happiness.

Afl all living beings will be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May all living beings never be separated from the great happiness free from suffering.

And all living beings will remain in great impartiality, free from the one-sidedness of happiness and suffering.

It is excellent to unite with pure thoughts, the “four immeasurables.” We have clarified space, with the help of the sound A we connected with openness, with the help of OM we connected with the awareness that permeates space, and now the “four immeasurables,” emanating from the inseparable unity of space and awareness, diverge, without knowing boundaries, in all directions, to all living things creatures. However, it is very important to treat good qualities as more than just an ideal to which we strive. So as you bring your attention to your heart center, I encourage you to reflect on the “four immeasurables”—love, compassion, joy, and equanimity—and figure out which of these qualities you need most in your daily life, which ones you need missing. Perhaps you have been so caught up in achieving your life's purpose that you have not taken the time to show kindness to others or enjoy their presence in your life, and therefore you want to cultivate love within yourself. You may find yourself becoming impatient and irritable with your aging parents. After reflection, you realize that you lack compassion for them. Perhaps you would like to cope with your physical, emotional or mental difficulties. As you reflect on this, you realize that you have lost joy in your life, so you would like to focus on increasing your joy. Or you may find that you are caught up in appearances or are overly influenced by other people's moods and opinions and want to gain more balance and self-control.

In the Five Warrior Syllables practice, as you reflect on your life, you bring your attention to your heart chakra and chant HUM over and over again with the clear intention of feeling one of the “four immeasurables.” Just bring your intention clearly to your mind. You may be thinking, “I want to feel joy in my heart.” At this stage of practice, your clear intention is enough, because the HUM gives this intention power. When you chant HUM, connect with the presence of the quality of joy. According to the highest teachings of Dzogchen, enlightened qualities do not develop, but are already present in the clear and open space of being. Because you have felt openness with A and fullness with OM, the quality of joy is present. We connect with the presence of this quality of joy - or any other desired quality - when we chant HUM over and over again. And when we sing HUM, everything that prevents us from recognizing the presence of good quality dissolves. As a result, we rest in an open and clear space thanks to the presence of this quality, in this case joy.

As you continue to discover and deepen your experience of kinship with the quality of joy, it is important to free that joy from connection with any specific object. One of our difficulties is that we always need an object. If you tell someone: “Be happy,” they will answer you: “Give me a good reason to be happy.” It's not so easy to understand how to be happy without a specific reason. It is much easier for us to imagine some kind of trouble. It seems that it is difficulties, and not good qualities, that arise spontaneously and without effort! Everyone understands what doubts that arise without effort and difficulties that appear by themselves are. We always seem to have good reasons to doubt—reasons that are reasonable, reasonable, and philosophically profound. We accept doubt as a wisely calibrated position, but no matter how this doubt is decorated, the point is that it serves as an obstacle to the flow of our lives.

So, we know that doubt arises spontaneously, but when it comes to the feeling of joy, we always need some kind of object: we always need a reason to be happy. But even then we can be distrustful of the object of our joy, again creating the possibility of doubt. In the practice of the five warrior syllables, it is important to connect with good qualities - love, compassion, joy, impartiality - which do not depend on anything, are not associated with objects or causes. Through the power of HUM we eliminate our doubts and hesitations regarding the full experience of these good qualities.

What distinguishes spontaneous qualities arising from the unity of emptiness and awareness is that they are not attached to specific objects. These qualities are pure by nature. I am not saying that they are cleared of doubt. I say that purity is their inherent quality. Usually, when we talk about cleansing, getting rid of something, it means that there was a serious difficulty and you finally freed yourself from it. Perhaps you have really clarified something, cleansed yourself, but your purity is still connected to the problem that preceded it.

Our idea of ​​deliverance is usually inextricably linked to the feeling of having an unpleasant situation: “I’m so glad that this person has finally left,” or “I’m so happy that this difficult task is completed,” or “I’m happy that it’s been five years since I am cancer free." Our happiness is connected with causes and conditions. The true power of deliverance minimizes the connection of this cleansing with the problem itself and maximizes its connection with those qualities that arise in the openness and clarity of being. The method of maximizing these good qualities should depend as little as possible on circumstances. If you take joy, then simply feel it without thinking about any object. "I'm just happy." Don't think about any plans. Don't think about any person. Do not associate your joy with getting rid of the disease. Don't think about any difficulties. Imagine how the light of joy shines in this open, clear sky, where there is nothing missing, nothing missing, where everything is there. This is how we develop good quality. In the practice of HUM, when we chant this sound again and again, we imagine that blue light is emanating from the heart. This light can be the support of the experience of good quality without any reason or condition. Then we are in this experience.

In Tibetan, meditation is denoted by the word gom (sgom) - “acquaintance”. We are simply not yet sufficiently familiar with the spontaneous good qualities of our nature. For a moment we get a glimpse of joy or love. We feel them, but the next moment they are no longer there: they are replaced by something else that distracts us. This comes from not getting to know them enough. If we are very familiar with openness and awareness, we can remain in the spontaneously arising experience for a longer time. Getting to know each other is very important. When we chant HUM again and again, it helps us become more familiar with the object-free experiences of joy, compassion, love, or equanimity.

How much time do we devote to thinking about our problems? “I'm struggling with this problem. I'm working on it. Have I really never moved? I thought I had already found a way out." We repeat these thoughts like a mantra. We probably repeat mantras and prayers less than we do our obsessive self-talk. Our problems are greatly amplified because we meditate on them too long, too often and in too much detail. If our consciousness is busy with struggle, there is too little space left in it. It is important to address a deeper level of being: the quality of purity or the openness of space.

There is significant power associated with where we place our attention. Every time we don't like something and we struggle with some situation, with a person, or with our own illness, or even with ourselves, we focus on something negative. This experience is unfavorable. We often stay in it instead of finding another solution. We're stuck. “Why am I experiencing this?”, “Why is this person doing this?” - there is no end to these questions. What's the point of repeating these thoughts? If we recite a mantra, we repeat it to get the beneficial result of that mantra. In such accumulation lies strength. But if we repeat: “Why do I always do this?”, “Why does this person always do this?”, then such questions are not only meaningless - they are also a way of further strengthening our problem, especially if we repeat such questions more than three times ! The incessant repetition of these questions is a consequence of anxiety, lack of awareness, and this is not a way out of the situation. By asking the same question over and over again, we get the wrong answer. Even a good question asked from the wrong position will not give the right answer. In this practice of the five warrior syllables, we focus on space, or energy, or one of the four immeasurable qualities. Focus on anything other than the exhausting and harmful constant replay of your problem in your mind. If you are capable of this, then beneficial changes are possible. A very common difficulty is the inability to recognize that we need to completely change the focus of our attention.

You may have heard this familiar advice: “Get out of your head. Just throw it away." There is wisdom in this. But perhaps you are not fully discovering this wisdom. When we say “get it out of your head,” we usually mean something that needs to be gotten rid of, not something that will show up when you throw it away. If you constantly focus on an object, on a problem, wisdom will not be discovered. You don't notice it, and it remains hidden from you.

So we go back to just being. What does it mean to be? Don't think about the problem for a moment. Don't occupy yourself for this moment. Just completely get rid of your usual worries. Breathe. Feel everything that is in this moment. If the sky is clear and the sun is shining, the only way to fully experience it is to have a pure mind. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful the weather is, our inner feeling will be gloomy. You are sitting in the park on a beautiful clear day, but your mind is gloomy. You are sitting on your karma seat, very familiar, such a comfortable, familiar seat of your usual thoughts.

Remember how we talked about connecting to the base of space using L? So to “throw it away” simply means to find space, a clean place within ourselves. Even a tiny gleam in the fog of our rational mind can be very important. Space has a power infinitely greater than the circumstances that occupy us. It may take time to realize this and believe it, which is why we practice meditation. If we take the time we spend on problems - talking about them, thinking and feeling about them - then how much of that time do we actually spend with a sense of space, or openness? The less open space of our being is available to us, the more massive our problems become. But as soon as we begin to connect with the space of our being, everything takes a completely different turn.

Instead of thinking about the problem, directly feel your body, energy and mind in this moment. Then focus on your heart chakra and chant HUM over and over again.

At this moment, the vibration of HUM fills all circumstances and habits of behavior. As they clear and the space opens, you set in motion your intention to connect with one of the “four immeasurables.” The quality you need most is already present and you are directing your attention to it. By radiating blue light from your heart, you connect with the state of undivided space and awareness, as well as the power of love, compassion, joy and equanimity. You connect, connect, connect and remain in this state.

It is very useful to consider the “four immeasurables” as the gate leading inward, to our deepest essence, and as the gate leading outward, through which we bring goodness and goodness into the world. Thanks to them, we find ourselves in the center of our being - we find ourselves in a state of unity of openness and awareness. They help us recognize the nature of existence and abide in it. This is the aspect of wisdom. This is the wisdom that stops suffering. I often characterize wisdom as openness. Openness is the sword that cuts away ignorance, the root of suffering. Through the openness of our being, through the inseparable state of openness and awareness, we spontaneously send out qualities of enlightened energy into the world.

Do you become happier when you are in a state of inseparable space and awareness? Undoubtedly! You will become happier if you are in this state. You connect with presence, potential, flow. You encounter fewer obstacles. Most of us would agree that joy is associated with the experience of freedom. The absolute meaning of freedom is a mind not limited by circumstances. Most of us have not experienced what an unconstrained mind is, or we do not recognize this open state. Usually we know what freedom is only when some obstacle is removed. The feeling of freedom is wonderful because the obstacle that was blocking the flow is cleared.

Every time someone interferes with the flow of your life, you suffer. The beauty of life is in flow. I use the word "flow" to mean a state of inseparable emptiness and clarity. The traditional word for the experience of inseparability is “bliss.” When openness and awareness are present, we experience bliss; from this bliss all good qualities spontaneously manifest. This is called spontaneous perfection - the perfection is already there.

In the state of inseparability of space and light, the “four immeasurables” are spontaneously present. If we practice to connect with joy, we strive to minimize the dependence of the feeling of joy on causes and occasions. We connect with joy as an inner feeling, as with its unshakable presence in the heart. At this stage of practice we do not think about expressing joy, which we will deal with later - the experience of inner joy stems from a state of inseparability of openness and awareness.

People spend their lives trying to find happiness, but they look for it in the wrong places. Where are we looking for him? First, our suffering is obvious to us, and we hate it. We want to get rid of them, and for this we are looking for or waiting for someone or something who would make us happy. We are waiting for some kind of magic, the appearance of some external reasons and circumstances. We spend so much time trying to be happy, or pinning our hopes on happiness in some future time. It's never really justified.

How to find true happiness? Go back to basics. Look not outside, but inside. Remove obstacles first. Don't add to the obstacles with your thoughts and reasoning. Act directly with body, energy and mind. At the body level, integrate movement with awareness. At the energy level, work with prana, subtle energy, integrating awareness and breathing. How to work at the mental level? Observe directly, without complicating anything and without being swayed by what arises. Don't dream about the future, don't hold on to the past, don't change the present. We leave everything as it is. We remain. It is clear that I do not mean the power of the rational mind, but I am talking about the power of awareness. Our awareness is not a consequence of thinking and analysis. Our awareness is our original nature.

Speaking about A, we gave an example of a clear, open, cloudless sky. Our example for OM is the sunlight filling this clear sky. Now the example for HUM will be the reflection of sunlight. Light is reflected in a variety of experiences. In nature, light is reflected on rocks, on water, on trees, on flowers. The inner aspect is love, or compassion, or joy, or equanimity. These qualities are a reflection of space and light. These qualities are pure.

The confidence that arises is unmistakable, it arises from the clarity and brightness of being. The wisdom of the inseparability of space and awareness is the wisdom of equality. Let's say you are looking at someone you love, or listening to your favorite music. You just think: “What beauty!” Of course, you can attribute this experience to the beauty of the person or the music, but it is also explained by the space in which you are located.

When you truly enjoy someone, it means that there is a good balance of space and light in your perception of that person. You are open and this allows you to be happy. The more you try to hold on, to preserve the experience that you like, to master it, the more suffering you will experience. But it is important to note that the presence of openness does not mean that we are far from our experience. This means that the connection occurs without the intervention of our tenacious mind. It is the balance of relatedness and openness that generates happiness. It is wrong to say: “You make me happy.” Not you". Because if someone made me happy, then this would have to happen tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, regardless of any other events, since the source of my happiness is that person. Clearly this logic is not convincing.

It is the space, the level of openness and relatedness, that makes the experience beautiful. When you begin to lose this openness towards someone, your happiness, your joy, decreases, even if the person with whom you were once happy remains the same.

In ordinary life, we use such an expression as “honeymoon”. This is the period in a love relationship when your partner opens doors for you and pulls out a chair for you, cooks you your favorite food and gives you flowers. Countless numbers of these signs of attention are naturally born from the openness that washes over us that we experience. Then there comes a period when doors are opened less and less often for us and chairs are pulled up, and then there is nothing to talk about. The feeling of free and open space weakens. Now it turns out that that person has taken over your personal space. You say, “I need some space.” But what we usually mean by this is, “I need to get rid of you so I can be myself again.” Why does this person affect you this way? Because we do not recognize space in ourselves. We focus on the object or on what occupies us, instead of trying to clarify the inner space, connect with it, know it.

As you begin to recognize this inner space, you become better able to protect it. You stop being constantly captive to the object. You find that external circumstances occupy and disturb you less and less. If the external situation occupies you less, there is more room for spontaneous connection. There is more and more room for life to be what it is. Things need to change less and adapt less for you to feel safe. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's true.

The special meditative experience of HUM is that we are in a state of inseparable emptiness and clarity, experienced as bliss. The experience A, that is, the comprehension of emptiness, and the experience of OM, that is, the comprehension of luminosity, clarity, are inseparable. They cannot be separated. You are open, you are aware. You are aware, you are open. To be in this undivided state of open awareness is bliss. To rest in this undivided state of open awareness is to be in a state of undividedness, in a non-dual space. In Dzogchen there are three experiences in meditation: emptiness, clarity and bliss. Practice with the HUNG gives the experience of bliss.

A common aspect of the experience of HUM is the feeling of happiness. “What’s the weather like today?” You open the window. "Wow!" You look at the sky: the sun is shining, there is no rain, no clouds that have bothered you over the past three days. This little bliss is a common experience. It appeared because there are no clouds today. Internally, your obscurity dissipated and a feeling of space appeared. There is an inner light in this space. Thanks to this space and inner light, we experience bliss. This bliss opens you to love. When you are happy, love is very easy. When you're unhappy, it's harder to love. Even if you want to be loving, this space is easily occupied by some opposing feelings. When faced with trouble, you may flare up and say rude things to those you love.

I always give the example of a friend of mine who wishes there was more love in her relationship with her mother. She understood that her mother was not young, and she wanted to change her usual defensive position and lack of restraint towards the woman she loved so much. Intellectually she was aware of this defensive attitude and wanted to change it. She thought about it and was determined to change everything.

To this end, she decided to arrange a wonderful meeting with her mother for the weekend, go to lunch with her, watch a movie and just relax and enjoy each other. On Friday, when after work she drove from the city to the suburb where her mother lives, there were a lot of cars on the road. She forgot to take her cell phone and could not call her mother. She was late. As soon as she opened the door, her mother greeted her with the words: “How late you are, don’t you know how worried I am?!” And then: “You look so tired. Are you getting enough sleep? What did you do with your hair? Is this a new fashion? This was enough for the daughter to awaken her old habits: she involuntarily became irritated, and she and her mother quarreled again.

My friend was not practicing meditation deeply enough for the desired change to happen on its own. In her mind she wanted it, but if she had focused more on her heart and removed the obstacles that prevented her from feeling love, perhaps she would have perceived her mother's comments differently. Suppose she could laugh and answer: “Oh, hair! They lie quietly all week, and by Friday they start to rebel a little! I guess I was so looking forward to our evening outing!” That's all that would be needed. If the practice had matured in her or touched her as deeply as her mother's remarks, my friend would have been able to achieve change. At least she wouldn't identify one hundred percent as the target of her mother's remarks.

So when we bring our attention to the mind - in this case, the intention to develop love - we simply chant HUM over and over again, feeling the presence of love and in the form of blue

CHAPTER THREE

light radiating this feeling out. We don't plan or think about anything: we simply open our hearts to experience love.

Where does this experience of love come from? I repeat: from clarity and space. When an obstacle or obscurity is removed and space is created, we naturally feel some presence of light or awareness. In the unity of light and space there is naturally a certain feeling of bliss. This bliss becomes the germ of the feeling of love. It's that simple. Everything is so logical.

The force with which A, OM and HUM are associated is one that many people are unaware of. People generally have no idea that connecting to and working with a deep inner source can bring about beneficial outer changes and transformations. In Tibet, this process is not talked about much because Tibetans are not so concerned about external manifestations. In the West, we consider external manifestations so important that we are almost completely absorbed in them. But how much these external manifestations are influenced by our inner capabilities and views and how consciously we access inner awakening is another question.

We clarify, open, recognize potential possibilities and fill this potential with the power of A, OM, HUM. As we move on to the next warrior syllable, we strive to unlock this potential so that it manifests itself for the benefit of ourselves and others.

LISTEN TO SOUND TRACK 3

THIRD SYLLABLE - HUM

CHAPTER FOUR

Fourth syllable - RAM

Chant the ripening sound RAM again and again.

Send radiant red light from the navel chakra.

All the Enlightened Qualities You Need

They ripen like fruit under the warm rays of the sun.

Through meditation on these spontaneously arising virtues

Demons of opposing emotions defeated

And mature confidence is gained.

I will perceive the wisdom of discernment!

RAM is the fourth warrior syllable. Thanks to A we gain an unchanging body, thanks to OM - inexhaustible speech, thanks to HUM - an unclouded mind, and now with the help of RAM we bring good qualities to maturity and perfection. When you chant RAM again, direct your attention to the navel chakra.

Connecting with the power of RAM, imagine that all your obstacles are burning away and your good qualities are fully ripening. With the help of RAM, we continue to practice and bring goodness and enlightened qualities to this world.

Sometimes we feel joy, but it does not find expression in our lives: we do not see the opportunity to spread this quality. Why is it necessary for inner quality to receive concrete expression? In fact, there is no need for this: we are perfect just the way we are. But we live in a relative world, and in this world it is important that our good qualities find expression.

Having started from the initial intention to develop one of the “four immeasurables” without an object, you now see the opportunity to enrich your relationships with your partner, with your family, with your work and wherever it is needed. Remember where in your life the quality you connected with is needed. As you chant RAM, imagine that this quality is now emanating as red light from your navel center. As you radiate this light, send love, compassion, joy and equanimity, filling your relationships, your work, and those troubled places on our planet that need it. You send these qualities to those places where they are lacking. What you connected with in your heart now finds a special connection to something. This quality matures and becomes more concrete. Imagine or feel that the quality you experience in your heart is now experienced in the presence of other people. Imagine the beneficial qualities of love, compassion, joy and equanimity being radiated to other people. Imagine how this radiation has a beneficial effect on others, like sunlight helping fruits to ripen. Imagine that you see good qualities reflected in others.

We start with space, awareness, and then the presence of an enlightened quality. For you, a particular quality - love, compassion, joy, impartiality - may be present, but it is not always mature. RAM brings it to maturity. When a good quality matures, it becomes tangible, manifested externally, and constructive. It becomes meaningful, involves interaction, and becomes something that can help someone else. Such matured quality gives real manifestations.

Having learned through OM the unlimited potential of good qualities and empowered a specific quality through HUM, now we, with the help of RAM, bring it to maturity in order to manifest this quality in the outside world. There may be many potential good qualities that we need to mature in order to manifest in our lives, be it in our professional activities or in our relationships. Most of us would agree that we could be a lot more kind and open in our relationships. By turning inward and finding a clear inner space, we can open up more to others.

Both in practice with RAM and in practice with the next syllable of action, AZA, it is useful to have ordinary rational awareness, such as that maintained by a monk who has taken the vows. Let's say you took a vow not to take someone else's. But after finishing a two-day fast, you suddenly see a table set with delicious food. You are tempted to try this food, although it was not offered to you. You think: “What should I do? I'm so hungry. No, I took a vow not to take what was not offered to me.” In such circumstances, you believe that you need to be consistent. Out of awareness you say, “No, I have taken a vow.” This thought is very useful when you develop love, compassion, joy and equanimity. For example, if in life you encounter an uncooperative person, you realize that you have found yourself in a “tension zone.” You know that he can say something that will really hurt you. Simply by being mindful, you can change what happens around you. Mindfulness is useful when the quality of compassion has not yet reached full maturity. You stop needing mindfulness if the good quality has matured one hundred percent, because it now constitutes your inner essence. If compassion has not yet matured, mindfulness is always useful. It takes some effort to manifest a good quality. In the Vita, a body of teachings containing rules for monastic behavior, mindfulness plays a very important role. The Beat does not speak of spontaneous behavior, but of vows and self-education.

Interference and obstacles are better visible at the level of manifestation. That is why rules of behavior and laws appeared in society. People believe that if we were not in control, the world would turn into chaos. But in reality this is not entirely true. Why do some cells form the heart, while others form the lungs? No one is directing this from the outside, no one is sitting somewhere on the fiftieth floor, organizing all these things. There is wisdom of nature, there is spontaneous perfection. It's just a matter of discovering it in ourselves.

Associated with RAM is the wisdom of discernment. When something matures, it reveals its own characteristics. It has its own history. It is special, distinctive. Look at the colors and patterns on just one peacock feather. The metaphor associated with RAM is the ripening of a fruit in the rays of the sun. Everything that this light falls on ripens. And what is ripe shows its final qualities. One flower turns blue, the other pink. These differences are due to the warmth that brings them to maturity. Individual qualities appear. Nothing merges into one mass, on the contrary: thanks to this light and heat, unique detailed manifestations arise. Such is the power of RAM.

The confidence that RAM gives is mature confidence. For example, you have confidence in the love you have for someone. You readily express your goodwill. You see more and more opportunities to show good qualities in your life.

The power of RAM defeats the demons of harmful emotions. These are the demons we call our inner demons: anger, jealousy, pride, attachment and ignorance. When your good qualities - love, compassion, joy, impartiality - mature in all their details and characteristics, these demons are defeated.

The meditative experience of RAM is the blazing fire of our potential. When highly creative people find themselves in an unfamiliar place, they can immediately recognize the possibilities that exist there. They can attract and mobilize available resources. They are able to create because they are endowed with potential. There is fire here, a powerful inner fire.

What is the difference between enlightened and ordinary action? Enlightened action is not carried out according to plan. It is guided by inner bliss and the good quality manifests itself spontaneously to those who need it. Such an action is called enlightened because it does not have any specific intentions or goals. It only appears when the need arises. It has nothing to do with the behavior of the woman who, on her way to her mother, planned along the way how she would shower her with love all weekend. This woman's action is not enlightened because she had a very specific person in mind. She could yell at someone who would cut her off on the road, although it was not her intention to yell at her mother. Of course, this all ended with her yelling at both the driver who overtook her and her mother. There is nothing enlightened about all this. If the quality of enlightenment is present, this blazing bliss is simply there, ready to manifest. An enlightened being has no need to exhibit this quality. Manifestation occurs only due to circumstances. If this quality is needed to manifest itself for the benefit of a person, it manifests itself.

So what is the enlightened quality? What is the most enlightened way to conduct your affairs? How can we interact with each other in a more enlightened way? I think it's very simple. This is our experience, a feeling of openness: we do not exclude anything, but include everything. Openness is wisdom, and wisdom must be present for any form of activity to be filled with compassion. The more wisdom and compassion are present, the more enlightened one's actions are. If there is wisdom and compassion in a relationship, that relationship is more enlightened.

The Dzogchen teachings say that enlightened beings manifest themselves in various forms for the benefit of others. They talk about peaceful, sensual, powerful and angry manifestations. From the blazing potential, a specific image manifests, because this is the manifestation that living beings need. Some people benefit from a peaceful manifestation, while others benefit from an angry one. This doesn't mean that peaceful, pleasing images aren't as effective.

An offer of help is a response to a request. Help is needed, and in response to this you show your quality, rather than approaching the situation based on your own considerations. I know one person who loves to listen to people's complaints. He greets you: “How are you?”, but if you answer: “Okay, how are you?”, he squeezes your hand and, looking into your eyes, repeats: “No, really, how are you?” You can guess what answer he would like to hear. He seems to want to say: “Are you sure that everything is fine with you? Please tell me about your troubles." By doing so, he can actually make you feel somewhat unhappy. When he asks “how are you?”, he really wants to hear that you are not doing well so that he can take care of you. This is not an enlightened approach!

Help is more useful when someone comes to you asking for help and you respond to it, rather than when you impose your help yourself. Sometimes when you think someone needs your help, it's actually you who needs help. So if the need is there for you, there will be no enlightenment in your response. There is no openness. If there is no openness, then there is no wisdom. If there is no wisdom, there is nothing enlightened about your desire to help. It becomes just another need.

It can be helpful to realize that you are in this position because there is a method at your disposal: by saying RAM, you can overcome your ideas and once again open the space for the natural and spontaneous manifestation of enlightened qualities. If you are not aware of your obstacles, then you do not look for ways to overcome them. When you chant RAM over and over again, you eliminate your own programs, ideas, projections and open up to be truly helpful to others.

The usual experience of RAM is boundless inspiration and delight. You are passionate about something you like and can do it all night long. When I studied at the monastery school of dialectics, there were many exciting moments associated with my studies. Training included participation in heated philosophical debates held late at night. One day a monk was returning from a debate and questions were swarming in his mind. He was so carried away by the topic that, holding the handle of his door, he remained standing. Thoughts about all the topics discussed came flooding into his mind. Before he had time to sort out all his thoughts, morning came. He stood at the door all night, continuing that stormy debate in his mind. Having completely resolved all the questions, he suddenly realized that he had been standing in front of the entrance to his room for more than five hours. However, if we take the opposite case, then we know how difficult it can be to do something that you are not truly passionate about. Just sitting down and spending two hours concentrating on something can be very difficult. You may understand the importance of what you are doing, but do you feel it with your whole being? Is RAM actually present? Does fire really burn? The normal experience of RAM is like an uncontrollable flame.

As love, compassion, joy and equanimity mature through RAM and we increasingly experience the power of good quality in our lives, the manifestation of that quality becomes spontaneous and effortless.

LISTEN TO SOUND TRACK 4 FOURTH SYLLABLE - RAM

CHAPTER FIVE

The fifth syllable is DZA

Sing DZL, the sound of action, again and again. Send radiant green light from the secret chakra to all suffering and needy beings. Just as a good harvest satisfies hunger, so the “four immeasurables” bring happiness and freedom. External obstacles are overcome, And confidence is achieved without effort. May I perceive the wisdom of all-perfection!

We move on to the last seed syllable - AZA, the seed syllable of action. DZL takes us into the space of manifestation. Let's say we have some kind of plan or some work to do. We create space for this and leave some time. We find funds, gather our strength, outline a plan, and then get down to business. During our lives, we carry out many things in this way. Sometimes we enjoy this process, and sometimes we find it difficult or unpleasant. However, in doing so we experience space, time, energy, action and completion.

If we take joy or another deeply personal or spiritual quality, then we may have some intention, but perhaps we lack the opportunity or we never begin to act, and we are very far from completing it. This can be changed. By saying DZA, we identify our intention and clearly say to ourselves: “This is what I want.”

At the material level, we always make specific plans and want to achieve specific goals in life. What do we want to achieve spiritually? I encourage you to set a goal for yourself. Set a goal and follow a clear plan.

We may have many wonderful ideas, but it can be difficult to implement them. If through the practice of the five warrior syllables we gain the courage to show results, we feel different. There is a feeling of confidence and completion. In our Western pragmatic world this is very important. We value real action and positive change. We are not satisfied with just repeating a mantra, which may bring some benefit in the next life. We want to see quick change. If you want to see change faster, you need to open up internally, you need to integrate the enlightened quality with life and actively feel it. Then you can manifest it.

If the quality you are developing is joy, then setting yourself the task of manifesting it means saying: “I want to be joyful, and therefore I want to bring good energy into my workplace. I want to clean the table, put out fresh flowers and take time every day to greet everyone around me.” Find out what changes you need to make in your workplace. Because you have gained some energy, these changes become possible. You yourself embody this energy, and therefore when you come to work, it manifests itself naturally. If you take relationships, people talk about how to have a good time together, and since everyone is so busy, they often need to plan this in advance. Do it now. Think about areas of your life that you want to enrich with love, compassion, joy and equanimity.

Perhaps this intention has already visited you many times. Why is it different this time? There is a difference because you have done a lot of work deep within yourself. You have discovered yourself. You have developed a sense of deep connection with yourself. You have recognized some enlightened qualities existing within you. You have become familiar with these qualities. They are present. They are active. They are ready to manifest themselves outwardly. You recognize the gate through which manifestation occurs and you say, “This is the area in which I want this quality to manifest.” This process is taking place. However, if you have not done the preliminary work, there will be no manifestation.

Often people have no idea why they cannot carry out their good intentions, and they draw unfavorable conclusions about their own inferiority and weakness. Or they consider themselves victims of circumstances or other people. The point is that if there is no internal work, then there will be no manifestation. Just thinking won't help. You need to open, feel, connect, develop, and then something can manifest. If deep down you are not open, if you do not really feel these good qualities or are not even aware that these qualities exist in you, then how can you expect them to manifest? If you have a difficult relationship with your parents and you don't open up and connect with the good qualities within you, how can you expect anything positive to appear on a plate in front of you? It doesn't happen that way. For something to appear, inner work is needed.

The basic principle of this practice is that whatever you do with AZA will not work unless you have a certain feeling of A. This is often not understood. We fight manifestation. We can endlessly say to ourselves: “Why did I get angry? Why did I do this again? What's my mistake?" We can repeat these questions again and again, but nothing changes. We don't see anything good. In a sense, the question “why?” not entirely sincere. Sometimes we are not really looking for a solution at all. We look for who or what to place the blame on. Or we find some solution through reasoning. We come to the conclusion: “There is nothing terrible about this problem. I accept myself. I accept my limitations." So we find some kind of speculative solution - instead of discovering a deeper, non-rational feeling of relief. To experience a deeper sense of deliverance, you need to open something deep within. It is necessary for the tension that controls you to dissipate. Chant AZA over and over again, letting go of this feeling of tension and effort.

Life in society - everywhere from the army to monasteries - is usually subject to laws and moral rules, from family relationships to government structures. But often these structures are not a natural part of us. If society were more enlightened, the enforcement of laws would be reduced to a minimum. There would be no need for rules and coercion because people would adhere to internal values ​​and would not need to be forced to behave in a certain way.

The question to find out with the help of AZA is whether you are acting from a clear and pure space deep within you, or whether you are doing something because it is “the right thing to do.” Some people spend their whole lives following the rules of propriety and are never truly touched by other people, they never come into genuine emotional contact with them. So the work we do is to return to our inner source. Can you see it? We don't just think, “I need to love this person,” and then start an internal dialogue with ourselves in which we discuss the reasons why this is not happening, and also join a support group for people who do not love enough. We need to go back to the beginning. Apparently, the most important thing for us in this practice is that we return to the beginning. Return within yourself and connect with an open and pure place, a place where good qualities are present; activate this presence in your body, emotions and mind, and then allow these qualities to mature. By practicing in this way, you naturally generate good qualities in your life.

The spontaneous, effortless manifestation of enlightened beings is done in order to help others. What does it mean? DZL itself is effort-free, spontaneous, enlightened activity. It is not a blazing fire, it is the activity itself. That's what DZL is. In a special meditative experience, enlightened beings, motivated by compassion, appear in myriad forms according to the needs of suffering beings. In our ordinary experience, this may simply be an act of generosity or an expression of love for someone. You say thank you to someone from the bottom of your heart. Your heart is full. Your eyes become moist. Your actions are spontaneous. This is a simple moment of virtuous activity.

When causes and conditions mature, DZL does not encounter obstacles. So when you chant this powerful sound of DZL, focus on the fact that green light is emanating from your secret chakra, located at the base of the central channel, about four fingers below your navel. Imagine this light being directed into areas of your life where you want to see positive results. The wisdom of all-fulfillment is associated with DZL. Accomplishment is present and effortless. Look at all the imperfect areas in your life and think about why they remain that way. Perhaps the task requires too much energy, is too difficult, too complex, and takes up territory within you that you don't even want to tread. If you keep in touch with A, then your AZA is pure. Reflect on the underlying principles of this practice. It may even be a good model for business. If something is stuck, don't try to push it through. Take a step back and create space - space between the people involved, space within the situation - and as that space is felt, solutions will emerge.

The confidence you gain from AZA is effortless confidence, spontaneous confidence, or effortless confidence. She is not what you pray for, not what you develop. It comes naturally as a result of your practice. If you practice, you will gain this confidence.

LISTEN TO SOUND TRACK 5 FIFTH SYLLABLE-DZD

CHAPTER SIX

How to organize a daily practice

Now that you have become familiar with the practice of the five warrior syllables, I urge you to use it as a daily practice. As I mentioned in the Introduction, this practice can change your life. To integrate this practice directly with your daily experience, you need, at the beginning of each practice, to reflect on the difficulty that is bothering you in life, on what you would like to change. Then decide to develop an antidote to that obstacle, hindrance, or obscurity—whatever you want to get rid of. For example, you notice that your family members annoy you, you scold them. Then you might want to develop love in yourself - the antidote to anger. Compassion is the antidote to a self-centered view of the world, joy can be an antidote to sadness, and equanimity can be an antidote to emotional instability or blurred boundaries in your relationships.

Before you begin your practice, you may want to do the tsalung exercises described in the Appendix. They help you focus clearly and strongly on each chakra, and in addition, these are very effective exercises that remove obstacles that prevent you from being open.

Remember that each of the syllables connects to one of the principles. And it clarifies and connects with openness. OM supports awareness, a sense of the fullness of this openness and the spontaneous presence of all good qualities. With the help of HUM, you connect with one or another enlightened quality that you need in your life - love, compassion, joy and equanimity - that quality that stems from the inseparability of openness and awareness. RAM brings this quality to maturity and brings it into our relationships. With the help of DZL, you spontaneously and effortlessly demonstrate this quality where it is required.

By practicing with a CD, you become familiar with simple sounds that lead you to being in the nature of mind. If you are starting to practice the five warrior syllables on your own, I encourage you to first pay special attention to what you are connecting with. Perhaps when you begin your practice, you are simply seeking to become familiar with the feeling of your awareness connecting with a particular chakra, as well as the feeling of the vibration of the sound as you chant the syllables. You may find that you are able to sense the metaphors associated with each syllable. In this case, your practice may consist of chanting A and at the same time imagining and feeling a clear, open, cloudless sky and being there; sing OM and imagine how the sky is filled with the rays of the sun; chant HUM and imagine how light spreads and reflects on objects of the natural world; sing RAM and imagine how, thanks to the light, nutritious fruits and grains ripen; sing DZA and imagine how these fruits and grains feed those who are hungry and poor. Or you may feel connected to the glow of colored light as you chant each syllable. With A you emit white light from the frontal chakra, with OM you emit red light from the throat; with HUM - blue light from the heart chakra; with RAM - red light from the umbilical chakra; and with DZA - green light from the secret chakra. As you become more comfortable with the practice, you can gradually incorporate the meaning of the syllables and their spiritual qualities. It is important to be in the space that opens within you after you sing each syllable.

I also encourage students to demonstrate the qualities they develop in their daily lives. Whenever you are lazy, when finishing your meditation, do not leave your practice on the seat or in the meditation room. If you have developed love, express that love in some action throughout the day. Don't just generate loving thoughts about others: express those thoughts. Send an email, write a card, make a phone call.

THREE HIGHEST PRINCIPLES

Before you begin any meditation practice, even if you are chanting warrior syllables in the car while driving to work, it is important to discover within yourself a strong and clear intention to realize the highest goal of your practice so that you can benefit others. This is the first highest principle. Then, when you do the actual practice, connect with openness and awareness as your natural state. This is your main practice and second highest principle. Finally, when completing the practice, it is important to dedicate the merits of its completion to all beings. Pray that all the benefits you receive from the practice will spread to all suffering beings. Arouse genuine feeling in yourself by thinking about specific people in your life who you know need something. If you pray sincerely, with all your heart, the benefits received from your practice are multiplied, sealed and can no longer be lost. Keep these three supreme principles in mind.

I advise you, when practicing the meditation of the five syllables-warriors, to sit on a cushion on the floor in the so-called “pose with five features”: legs crossed, back straight and chest straightened, hands lying in a balance gesture (palms up, left over right, placed at the level of the lower abdomen, four fingers below the navel), the chin is slightly lowered, lengthening the back of the neck, the eyes are lowered. The direction of gaze coincides with the level of the tip of the nose.

When you sing the syllables, you can close your eyes. After you have sung the syllable, I advise you to keep your eyes open and look into the space in front of you. If you find this too distracting, you can close your eyes.

If you find it difficult to sit on the floor, you can sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor, keeping your back straight and not leaning against the back of the chair.

PRACTICE

On the CD that accompanies the book, I guide the practice of the Five Warrior Syllables. Audio tracks one through five are a short meditation on each syllable individually. The sixth audio track is a guided meditation to fully practice all five syllables together. If you have read the text, thought about it, and then listened to the audio tracks corresponding to the syllables on your own and become somewhat familiar with the syllables, I suggest practicing with the full instructions contained in track six. I've included a full practice guide, similar to what you'll hear on the CD, but with some additional tips.

Relax your body and mind, breathe freely. Connect with this moment here and now. Create a clear, sincere intention to receive healing and benefit from this practice not only for yourself, but also for others. Then remind yourself of the state you want to achieve. Once you realize this, feel directly and deeply how this experience is reflected in the body, energy and mind. Understand that what is troubling you now will become a gateway to greater discovery, part of your path to liberation for the benefit of all.

Gradually bring your attention to the third eye, the frontal chakra. As you chant the original sound of A, imagine and feel the vibration and healing power of A dispelling and clearing blockages in your body, emotions and mental obscurations. Chant the sound A continuously, imagining and feeling the vibration of that sound A dispelling harmful emotions and eliminating any discomfort you may be experiencing at this very moment. Without judging your feelings and sensations, continuously chant A. While singing, emit white light from the frontal chakra. Gradually feel a deeper connection with this sound.

A... A... A...

Chant A constantly, connecting with the inner space, just as the open space of the desert connects with the crystal clear sky. Imagine how your thoughts dissolve in the crystal clear sky. Feel this inner space. This way you will overcome your deepest fears and feel openness and faith in the space that you perceive at this very moment.

A... A... A...

Rest in this openness within yourself and connect with it. Stay open, without changing or complicating anything.

Gradually bring your attention to your throat, imagining and feeling a deep openness, free of all obstacles. Feel confident in this space of openness. Feel the fullness in this space of openness. At this moment in your life, you lack nothing. The inner essence is full of all good qualities without any external grounds or causes. All experiences are reflected clearly, like images in a mirror. Connect with this feeling of completeness as you chant the sacred sound of OM over and over again. Keep your attention on the throat and emit red light.

OH... OH... OH...

Feel a sense of completeness deep within. There is nothing missing, nothing missing. Feel in this openness the luminous quality of awareness. Feel the sun shining in this clear desert sky. In this openness you are fully present and aware.

OH... OH... OH...

Stay in openness, awareness, completeness.

Gradually bring your attention to your heart chakra. Feel the clear openness in it. Chant the sacred sound of HUM again and again, and let this sound help you connect deeper and deeper. Feeling a deep sense of openness in your heart chakra, imagine the presence of the “four immeasurables”: love, compassion, joy and equanimity. Be aware of the clear intention to experience one of these qualities. Feel them strongly and deeply as you continuously chant this sacred sound. Feel the warmth of quality. This is an internal quality, not based on causes and conditions. Feel it become stronger, brighter and more alive in your crescent as you emit blue light. Chant the sacred sound HUM again and again.

HUM... HUM... HUM...

Continuously feel this quality in the open space of your heart. Feel it with your body, skin, breath. Feel it emanating from you, radiating like sunlight in a clear and open sky. Feel the quality emanating, free from judgment and the rational mind. The way it flows as you continuously chant:

HUM... HUM... HUM...

Stay feeling supported by quality.

Gradually bring your attention to the navel chakra. As you chant the warrior syllable RAM, imagine and feel the quality of fire that activates and brings to maturity the good quality that you have felt and developed in your heart. Feel how this quality grows and intensifies thanks to the sound of RAM. The sound of RAM promotes the maturation of this quality and eliminates harmful emotions. When you chant the sound RAM, imagine how this good quality is radiated into our world, going where it is needed.

RAM... RAM... RAM...

Quality ripens through the power of the sound of RAM, just as a fruit ripens through the light of the sun. Radiate the good quality of red to your workplace, your relationships, your home. Radiate fiery light of mature quality into different areas of your life until you see some shifts and changes.

RAM... RAM... RAM...

Stay with the experience of maturity.

Gradually bring your attention to the secret chakra at the base of the central channel. Imagine and feel how powerfully the quality manifests itself when you chant the sacred syllable DZL, the sound of action, spontaneous, effortless action. Feel the ripened quality appearing spontaneously and fully in the right circumstances. The DZL sound helps you manifest this quality without any effort. You naturally experience good quality in your relationships, and you naturally find this quality in your home. Chant AZA continuously. The fruit is ripe and you are enjoying it. A good quality manifests itself in your life and benefits others.

DZA... DZA... DZA...

Continuously experience spontaneous manifestation by emitting green light from the secret chakra. Feel how the vibration of the DZL removes obstacles that prevent spontaneous manifestation.

DZA... DZA... DZA...

Rest in effortless confidence.

Application

Removing obstacles using

Tsalung exercises

To create favorable conditions for eliminating physical, energetic and mental obstacles, I suggest the practice of five tsalung exercises. These exercises are very powerful and can be done before practicing the five warrior syllables. I will describe these five exercises. They are described in detail in my book Healing with Form, Energy, and. Light. Translated from Tibetan it is “channel”, and lung is “vital breath”, or “wind”. By directing attention to the mind, breathing and physical movements together, in each exercise we strive to open one or another chakra, or energy center, in the body, and eliminate the obstacles that hinder us and obscure the pure and open space of being from us.

THREE MAIN CHANNELS

When working to remove obstacles through tsalung exercises, imagine three main channels in the body: the central channel and two additional channels. These channels are made of light. The central, blue channel rises through the center of the body and, slightly expanding at the level of the heart, opens at the crown. They say it is as thick as a bamboo arrow. The accessory or lateral canals, red and white, are somewhat smaller in diameter and join the central canal at its base, about four fingerbreadths below the navel. The side channels rise from this junction parallel to the central channel. Unlike the central canal, which runs straight up toward the crown of the head, the lateral canals arch beneath the cranial vault, extend down behind the eye sockets, and open at the nostrils. The right channel is white and symbolizes method (skillful means) or qualities. This is a channel of male energies. The left channel is red and symbolizes wisdom. This is a channel of feminine energies.

The chakras located along the central channel have different qualities and characteristics and provide the meditator with different opportunities. The central channel is our way. It is not a physical road, a route, but a path, a stream of consciousness. If you feel clarity, then clarity is a state of mind. The feeling of fullness is a state of mind. Feeling the presence of good qualities is a state of mind. Feeling the state of maturity of all qualities is a state of mind. Manifestation is a state of mind. So since everything is mind, mind, mind, mind, mind, each component serves as the basis for the next, and this is called the path.

Sometimes I joke that if you love someone very much, you should express it like this: “I love you with all my center channel.” This is better than loving with all your heart, because when you say “with all your heart,” you may be referring to your emotions. The central channel is a clear and open expression of the fullness of your being.

It is difficult to define what the central channel experience is. There is no special term for this. The easiest way would be to say that this is a kind of deep feeling of inner peace, a complete stay in full awareness, and not in sleepy peace. We all know how to be at peace when we are deeply asleep, but not everyone can be at peace with full awareness. Tsalung exercises are very useful for removing obstacles and obstacles that prevent you from being in deep peace with full awareness.

LATERAL CHANNEL EXERCISES There is a simple exercise you can do to bring your focus and breathing together and become more familiar with the presence of these light channels. Inhale, feeling the clean, life-giving air enter your body through your nostrils. Imagine the air flowing through the red and white side channels to the junction of the channels, located four fingers below the navel. Hold the air here a little, directing your attention to this place. To accentuate this hold, gently tighten the muscles of the pelvic floor, anus and perineum. Then exhale slowly and under control and release the hold. As you exhale, notice how the air moves in the body up the side channels and out through the nostrils. Feel how this freeing breath removes hindrances and obstacles from the body, energy and mind. Imagine how these obstacles instantly dissolve into the endless surrounding space. Repeat, breathing in fresh, clean air that enriches and maintains your focus, flowing through the side channels down to the junction. Then hold the air slightly and remain focused on the junction of the channels, tightening the muscles slightly as described above, and then exhale, slowly releasing the air through the nostrils as it rises through the side channels of your body.

At first you can do twenty-one cycles of inhalation and exhalation, and then rest, simply remaining in the moment naturally, while the experience remains fresh. Then you may want to expand your practice until you can effortlessly perform 108 cycles of this breath. In this way, you will be able to become more firmly and intimately familiar with the channels and the principle of releasing tension. You can also learn to focus in a way that brings peace and clarity. In this preliminary exercise, we are not actively engaged in mastering the vital breath, prana, in the central channel, but are only aware of the presence of this channel.

FIVE TsALUNG EXERCISES

In each of these five exercises there are four stages of breathing: inhalation, retention, additional inhalation and exhalation. In each exercise, you inhale through your nose and imagine the air flowing through the side channels until it reaches their junction with the central channel, as described above. When the air reaches this place, the energies of the two side channels, male and female, unite and rise up the central channel. Imagine that the central channel is filled with beneficial energy, rising to the chakra that you use in this or that exercise. This involves holding your breath and concentrating on the corresponding chakra.

While holding the breath in the chakra indicated for each exercise, the beneficial quality of prana is contained in it, like nectar in a vessel. Then, without exhaling, you inhale a little more air again and hold for the entire movement. This extra breath increases the warmth and energy, which causes prana to flow throughout the body like nectar. In each exercise, the main attention with which we follow this spreading prana is directed to the chakra that is used in this exercise. At the end of the movement, the exhaled air descends through the central channel and moves outward through the side channels and nostrils. Think of this exhalation as sucking out, eliminating, clearing away the hindrances and obstacles that obscure your natural awareness. Imagine that the chakra itself opens, cleanses and maintains the experience of open awareness in this chakra. Now your breathing returns to your normal state, and you rest in open awareness.

It is recommended that when performing a tsalung, you repeat each exercise at least three times. These exercises can clear away gross obstacles, such as those that cause illness or strong harmful emotions, eliminate, exhaust factors that aggravate delusive thoughts, and get rid of obstacles that prevent you from being aware and at peace in your own natural mind.

After completing the exercise three times, simply continue to maintain your attention on the chakra you used. When you open up and relax physically and energetically, the energies calm down. Let your mind rest in the open space governed by this chakra while the experience remains fresh and natural. If you can remain like this with your eyes open, that is best. If you get distracted with your eyes open, just close them.

1. Tsalung exercise with lifting prana

The Tsalung exercise with rising prana opens the throat, frontal and parietal chakras. Inhale through the side channels and imagine that clean air enters the central channel and fills it from the bottom up to the throat chakra. Hold your breath while focusing your attention on this chakra. Take an additional breath and continue holding your breath, maintaining the same attention. Feel how prana spreads upward, nourishing all the senses located in the head. Think about the obstacles you want to get rid of. Begin to slowly rotate your head counterclockwise, performing this movement five times. Feel the prana moving in an upward spiral in your head. Then reverse the direction and rotate your head clockwise five times, still continuing to feel the upward spiral movement of the nectar, which seems to wash away and cleanse everything it touches. As you complete the movement, exhale.

Imagine that the air is descending through the central channel and the obstacles are leaving the body through the side channels and nostrils. As you exhale, your attention is directed upward, and you imagine how obstacles are carried away by prana and removed through the crown chakra.

Repeat the entire exercise three times. Each time you exhale, the obstructions are released and eliminated. After the third repetition, let the mind rest in open awareness, feeling the openness and clarity of the throat, frontal and crown chakras. Eyes can be either open or closed. Remain in open awareness while the experience is fresh and natural.

NOTE: According to the instructions, each exercise is performed while holding your breath and exhaling only at the end. However, if you are short of breath while the movement is not yet completed, then take a short additional breath. If you do get out of breath, repeat the movement only three times instead of five, until over time your endurance increases and you can do five repetitions. ;

2. Tsalung exercise with life force prana

The tsalung exercise with life force prana opens the heart chakra. Inhale through your nostrils and, watching the air flow through the side channels, imagine that it enters the central channel and rises to the heart. Hold the air at chest level, focusing on the heart chakra. Take an additional breath and, as you continue to hold, remain focused on the heart chakra, feeling the prana spreading inside the chest, nourishing the heart area. Feel what obstacles you would like to get rid of. Extend your right arm and rotate it counterclockwise over your head five times, as if you were spinning a lasso. Feel how life-giving air spreads in your chest and your vitality increases. Then extend your left arm and rotate it clockwise five times in the same motion as if you were spinning a lasso. Continuing to hold your breath and remain focused, place your hands on your hips and rotate your upper body five times to the right and five times to the left. Finally, exhale, imagining that the air is descending through the central channel, rising through the side channels and exiting through the nostrils. Feel how the obstructions are released and come out with the exhaled air. Also imagine that the heart chakra is opening and releasing.

Repeat the entire exercise three times. Finally, remain in open awareness, keeping the heart chakra open as your focus. Stay like this while the experience is fresh and natural.

3. Tsalung exercise with fire-like prana

The tsalung exercise with fire-like prana opens the navel chakra. Inhale clean air through the nose, which then passes through the side channels, carrying prana to the point where they connect with the central channel, after which it rises to the navel. Do kumbhaka, or “jug retention” of air. Kumbhaka (Sanskrit, Tib. parlung) involves tightening the muscles of the anus, perineum and pelvic floor, resulting in a “basket”, while the diaphragm is pushed down, forming a lid. Be careful not to create too much pressure or tension. Focus your mind on the navel chakra inside the jar. Take an extra breath while maintaining your focus on kumbhaka. Imagine that the prana is spreading, filling the “jug” and nourishing the navel area. Make five anti-clockwise abdominal circles, keeping your attention on kumbhaka and also remembering all the obstacles that you are getting rid of. Then make five clockwise circular movements. After completing the movements, the air descends through the central channel and exits through the side channels and through the nostrils. Feel how the obstacles come out along with the exhaled air and dissolve in space. Feel the opening and relief in your navel chakra.

Repeat the entire exercise three times. Then remain in open awareness, keeping your attention on the navel chakra. Stay there as long as the experience is fresh and natural.

4. Tsalung exercise with omnipresent prana

In the Tsalung exercise with omnipresent prana, we begin by directing attention to the junction of the three channels, transferring it to the whole body, and then extending it outside the body. Inhaling clean air through the side channels to the junction of the channels, direct the prana to the central channel and hold your breath and attention there. Imagine that prana begins to spread throughout your body. Take an extra breath, feeling how the life-giving breath spreads and fills first of all those places where you notice some kind of energy congestion. Feeling the spread of life-giving prana throughout your body, raise your arms above your head. Sharply clap your palms over your head and rub them together, feeling a surge of warmth and energy. Continuing to hold your breath, rub your entire body with your hands, especially those places where you feel some kind of weakness or tightness. Feel how these places come to life, as if every cell of your body is trembling, absorbing life-giving energy. While still holding your breath, make movements like drawing a bow, opening your upper torso. Make five such movements to the right and five to the left. Finally, when you exhale, the prana descends through the central channel and the obstructions are removed through the side channels and nostrils. Feel the relief in every pore of your body.

Take a breath and then repeat the exercise, doing it three times. Finally, remain in open awareness. Your attention can be directed to the chakra located at the junction of the three channels. Stay like this as long as the experience remains fresh and natural.

5. Tsalung exercise with lowering prana

The tsalung exercise with lowering prana opens the secret chakra. Sitting on the floor, cross your legs at the ankles, right leg in front of your left, knees apart and raised. Place your palms on your respective knees to stabilize the pose. When you inhale, air enters through the nose and side channels. At the base of the central channel is the secret chakra. Direct your attention and prana to the secret chakra and create a “basket” by tightening the muscles of the anus, perineum and pelvic floor. Take an extra breath, allowing prana to flow throughout the body, and imagine that it is nourishing the secret chakra area. Rotate your upper torso to the right and, holding your right knee with both hands and using it as a stable support, rotate your pelvis counterclockwise five times. Then, turning to the left and holding your left knee with both hands, which serves as a stable support, rotate your pelvis clockwise five times. Then sit up straight and, holding both knees, rotate your pelvis five times counterclockwise and five times clockwise. While performing these movements, maintain breath-holding and “basket”. By removing obstacles, you maintain focus on the secret chakra. Having completed the movements, exhale, imagining that the obstacles are carried away by prana, which moves along the side channels and exits through the nostrils, dissolving into space. Imagine that the subtle prana goes down, and the secret chakra is freed and opens.

Repeat the entire exercise three times. On the last repetition, remain in the state of contemplation longer, experiencing changes at the level of body, energy and mind. Rest deeply in open, natural awareness while the experience remains fresh.

Acknowledgments

For thirty-three years now, my teacher Yongdzin Tendzin Namdag Rinpoche has remained a constant inspiration and kind mentor for me. His support and advice helped

They help me shed light on the ancient teachings of Bon, making them useful for modern times. I want to express my ardent devotion to him and my deep gratitude for his wisdom and kindness. In preparing this book, he gave me his valuable time while in Nepal and France, where we discussed this presentation of the practice of the five syllable warriors. I would also like to thank Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche and Ponloba Trinley Nyima Rinpoche for also giving their time and attention to this discussion.

Most importantly, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Marcy Vaughan, a close and senior student. Marcy likes a lot

worked to make this book about the five warrior syllables accessible to Western readers. Personally, it was a pleasure to work with her, and without her this book would not have been published.

For more than fifteen years now, many of my disciples from different Sanghas all over the world have taken upon themselves the responsibility of promoting my teachings and organizing practice centers. I would like to express my gratitude to them for their invaluable help, as it allows me to focus on my studies.

I would also like to thank Tami Simone, President of Sounds True Publishing, for her interest in publishing this audio book. Thanks to her team at Sounds True: Kelly Notaras, Chantal Pierra, Chad Morgan, Mitchell Kluth and Haven Iverson - they all contributed their care and talent to this project.

Finally, because I have traveled so much around the world to teach and guide students, I am grateful to my wife Tsering Wangmo for her love. Her understanding of my work and tolerance of my long absences supported my efforts to benefit all living beings.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Paris, France August 2006

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and resident mentor of the Ligmincha Institute in Virginia, USA, was one of the first lamas to bring the Dzogchen teachings of the Bon tradition to the West. From the age of 13, Tenzin Rinpoche underwent an eleven-year course of traditional training with Tibetan Bon teachers at the Bon monastic center in Dolanji, Himachal Pradesh, India. Rippoche has received grants from the Norwegian University of Oslo and from the Swedish University of Lund and was a Rockefeller Fellow at Rice University.

Translation from English: F. Malikova
Editor K. Shilov

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Bon is one of the oldest eastern spiritual traditions, continuously transmitted to this day. Thanks to the book<Тибетское исцеление звуком>you can become familiar with the ancient practice of the sacred sounds of this tradition and use them to awaken the healing potential of your natural mind.

A CD with a recording of the practice is included..

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Translation from Tibetan: B. Erokhin. Editor: B.I. Zagumenov

388 pp, hardcover

The classic work of the patriarch of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism is one of the first encyclopedic reviews of the views and practices of Mahayana and Diamond Vehicle Buddhism, which served as a model for the creation of a number of similar works. The book belongs to the class of literature that describes in detail the stages of progress of practitioners on the path to achieving Buddhahood, as well as the key concepts of Buddhism. The book's high literary merits and philosophical depth make it not only a reference guide for every Buddhist practitioner, but also one of the most remarkable monuments of Buddhist literature.

Translation from English: Farida Malikova

216 pp., hardcover

This is one of the earliest Dzogchen texts in which Manjushrimitra outlined the basic teachings he received from Garab Dorje. The book includes another short text: “Oral instruction - tantra on the practice of developing a state of pure and complete presence.”

Translation from English by Farida Malikova

192pp., hardcover

The second volume of The Light of Wisdom contains the famous text of Padmasambhava Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo, as well as a commentary on it entitled "The Light of Wisdom" written by Jamgon Kongtrul and notes on the commentary by Jamyang Dragpa. The book contains in-depth explanations of the Buddhist Vajrayana, from the essence of initiation and tantric commitments to an explanation of the generation stage.

The second volume provides in-depth explanations of the Buddhist Vajrayana, starting with the essence of initiation and tantric commitments and ending with an explanation of the generation stage. The root text of the Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpoterma, revealed by the great terton Chokgyur Lingpa, the incarnation of the great translator Vairochana, together constitute a complete tract, encompassing all the tantras, agamas, and upadesha traditions of the ancient translations of the Nyingma school. Such a treatise is very rare to find in the past, present or future.

Padmasambhava's texts