Nothing is meaningful unless one escapes from the abyss of the six classes of beings, and for that one must develop the power of non-dual realization!

Guru Padmasambhava

The physical body is called “Ryu” in Tibet. Ryu - has the meaning of a temporary refuge of a traveler, something to be left behind in the end. In Tibetan tradition, it is advised to look at life through the eyes of a traveler who stays in a hotel for a couple of days: he likes the room, likes the hotel, but does not get excessively attached to them, because he knows that all this does not belong to him, and he will soon leave.

About Karma

The word "Karma" is very widespread nowadays. However, not everyone fully understands what it is and how it is formed. The most popular definition of "Karma" is some sins and bad deeds, some retribution, but all this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Of course, something we didn't commit will never come back to us. But this is only a general principle and there are many details.

The word Karma means an action, a deed, or the result of that action. And what are these actions? In general, the Law of Karma has a deep connection with the law of emergence of the twelve conditions. Briefly, we do not see ourselves and therefore we perform actions. What does it mean to not see ourselves?

Try to just sit in comfortable conditions and do nothing. How long will you sit like that? I think not long, you will want to turn to objects, to look for objects. Objects that give the illusion of satisfaction, that give a certain state and experience. This is the state of lack of self-awareness, the state of Avidya. And what are these actions?

It is often said that they are some deeds, something comparable to a feat, something global. Yes, it is so, but we have three instruments - body, speech, and thoughts.

Performing actions with our body, speech, and thoughts we accumulate experience and information, which eventually becomes our karma. Karma is stored in our five Aggregates, or our false self.

Most of the accumulation takes place in the deep skandhas, which are images, experiences, and data in their purest form. This data becomes our discernment, based on which we begin to make various decisions. Next, this data begins to affect our sensations and our body.

Feelings become dulled or sharpened. If too much data is accumulated, various diseases begin to arise. For example, if one is captured by food and eats a lot, the digestive organs begin to suffer because of greed. I.e. in the end the data are projected and manifest in the physical body.

That is why we can say that all five Aggregates are accumulations of karma.

Don't follow thoughts that can take us to distant places; don't chase after one thought, then another, but learn to root your attention in the present.

Pakchok Rinpoche

Excerpt from a lecture by a Jnana Yoga Attainer

There are countless worlds you don't know. And the highest peak, the highest state cannot be replaced by anything. And it's not nothingness. It's emptiness. But I would not practice for the sake of just becoming empty. The state of emptiness is inherently a state of joy, happiness, and freedom. It is the presence of these three conditions that motivates me to practice making emptiness.

Realize, that in past lives, you have accumulated great merit that enables you to follow the path of truth. You have entered the Dharma stream to follow the path of truth now. And this flow of Dharma is marvelous.

The larger the practitioner's vessel at the moment of liberation, the more different his state of liberation, enlightenment, and even more so, state of joy.

If we are talking about the relative world, we can use the following comparison. There is a person who was previously carrying a load weighing five kilograms and has now dropped it. And there is another person who, under the same conditions, was carrying a weight of 20 kilograms and has dropped it. Naturally, the second person will feel much more relieved. He will feel an incredible lightness. And the methods of Buddhism and yoga allow you to drop your load.

Bodhisattvas should load themselves as much as possible and walk with this load until the moment of Liberation. When you release this weight just before Liberation, you will feel incomparable lightness. If, however, your load originally weighed only 500 grams or even 100 grams, you will feel no joy when you drop it. This is how great Bodhisattvas differ from Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas.

The great burden that enlightened people carry is suffering, their own and others. An enlightened person is fully cognizant of his own and others' suffering. Enlightenment is what it means to discover the essence of suffering. What next?

After attaining Enlightenment, a person starts preaching about suffering. So naturally, he will give an exact answer to any question you may have about attachment. Of course, if Liberation is attained by a person who absolutely did not suffer but wanted only his own happiness, the state he has attained may be beautiful, but he will not be able to influence other people.

That is why Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas are called Buddhas on the one hand and Arhats on the other. Of course, I would like you to attain Liberation and Enlightenment in this life. But that's not all. I would like you to follow the Bodhisattva path as long as possible in this life.

Anyone can master these methods of practice. You don't have to sit in the right posture or recite mantras. Just constantly meditate on salvation, on others' happiness, freedom, and joy, on the will of God Shiva. Whenever you have a free moment, meditate on it. Then your soul will begin to change. And the world of the soul manifests in dreams. If your subtle body separates, the worlds it visits will also change. You will become lighter day by day. This is a very simple practice, but it is also the most difficult. Because it is easy to get attached to low things. When the mind is lowered, you get attached to low things. Think about this and progress in the practice. You still have a lot to experience.

A family is a place where minds come in contact with each other. If these minds love each other, the house is as beautiful as a garden of flowers. But if these minds are in disharmony with each other, the garden looks ruined, as if a storm has ravaged it.

Sakyamuni Buddha

“My body is not me”

The strongest attachment we have to our bodies and therefore, at the time of death, we experience the greatest suffering from the upcoming separation from it.

At the time of death, every creature - kangaroo, snail, human being - is filled with fear: we cannot bear the thought that we will die leaving this body, no matter how much suffering it gives us.

What is a body?

It is just a skeleton with bits of flesh and muscles attached to it.

Inside are organs, veins, blood, and other fluids; it is covered with skin and adorned with hair, nails, and teeth.

In their natural state, all these things are unattractive.

Why become so attached to this body and suffer so much?

At the time of death, clinging to the body causes unimaginable suffering.

Cutting off this attachment is essential to die with a peaceful and happy mind.

Understanding this will help anyone - Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Judaist, or even someone who believes that life is only one and soon they will finally cease to exist.

Lama Sopa Rinpoche

Your mind is steadfast when your attention is not directed to a subject or object. Don't be distracted by the slightest effort, hope, or fear, don't give rise to thoughts, and don't prevent them from arising naturally. Do not correct anything, but always abide in your natural state... Do not leave that state in which you are the Awakened One himself!

Guru Padmasambhava

Acquiring the Subtle Body (Explanation from an Attained Master in the last century)

Spiritual practice offers a path of perfection and the creation of a new self. This is clearly stated in Taoism, esoteric Buddhism, and yoga. All of them partly show and partly conceal the essence of this path. If we borrow Taoist terminology, we can say that the creation and formation of a new physical body in this world is exactly the goal of esoteric Buddhism, yoga, and Taoism. Such a body will be able to live through a Kalpa. In other words, from the point of view of an ordinary person it can live practically indefinitely. It can move wherever it wants. But in the process of making it, there are inevitably things like a hole in the heart, a hole in the skull. I myself have two holes in my skull and will probably have three.

I will proceed to explain this process. First, the Kundalini awakens, the Tummo rises, and the white dot on the top of the head melts. Due to this, the nadis are purified and we experience bliss. Then a clot of energy arises in the central channel. Next, the three energy channels begin to cleanse and eventually, the channels in the whole body are cleansed. At this time there is a very high probability of going crazy if the practitioner does not control his grasping. Because there is an incredible pressure on the brain. After that, the Five Elements begin to arise in the energy channels. Then the fire of Tummo and the white point connect, and as a result, growth begins. This is called the emergence of the [immortal] germ. To the white [dot] and red [flame] joined together, the blue-blue Soul Drop is added, and the Yang spirit begins to grow. It gradually grows, breaks through the skull, and comes out.

The important point is not to fail in trying to bring the little Yang spirit outside and bring the little Yang spirit inside. In the next stage, the eight holes in the heart appear and the Dharma Body is formed. This is the endpoint spoken of in our world in Buddhism, Yoga, Taoism, and Esoteric Buddhism.

In the stage preceding the appearance of the signs described, manifold abilities are developed, but if possible do not become attached to them. Ejaculation for you will be like death. Because the food for feeding the Yang spirit is just seminal fluid and ordinary nutrients.

Once you start practicing dharma, you will definitely feel that your unconsciousness decreases, aggression decreases, pride decreases, attachment and desires decrease, jealousy and rivalry decrease, and your mind becomes more calm and peaceful. These are signs of attainment.

When you listen to the Dharma teachings, when you meditate, when you practice, the root of all Dharma is the taming of the mind. The signs of attainment that you think are important, such as seeing deities or gaining some power, are not really true signs-they are just attributes.

The true sign is a change in your mind, a subsiding of the five conflicting emotions, a lessening of attachment to sansara, a reduction in self-centeredness, and the desire to become famous, make a profit, or impress others. A sure sign is a reduction in your constant attraction to the short-lived pleasures of this world.

If you experience such things, then you are indeed experiencing signs of true dharma attainment. The ability to fly through space or leave your footprints in stone are signs of some Siddha, some power, but they are not signs of the end result, which is nothing but the pacification of delusion and conflicting emotions.

"INTRODUCTION TO THE NATURE OF THE MIND" / Oral Teaching by the Venerable Yangthang Rinpoche