Pointing Out the Great Way Quotes

“At the very beginning of meditation, attempts to focus attention on the intended meditation object cannot easily be separated from the coarse content of the mind, mostly elaborate thinking. The beginner easily confuses attention with thinking. Since attention is confounded with thinking in these early stages, they are referred to as contemplation (bsam gtan), not as formal meditation (sgom ba). Nevertheless the attempt to isolate the act of focusing attention from the background of elaborate thinking does produce a certain benefit with practice. From the perspective of mind, the benefit is that the mind stays on its intended object, at least somewhat. From the perspective of the mind’s events, thinking becomes less elaborate—that is, it becomes a bit calmer.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“Buddhist view of the body. The body is not solid, but rather consists of an elaborate system of interconnected processes (rten ’brel). The complex interrelationship between these processes makes the body seem solid, yet its seeming solidity is but an illusion.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“According to this doctrine, all actions are believed to ripen (smin ba) into effects (byas) over time, and the repetition of certain actions further multiplies the effects. These effects become manifest in our experience in the form of signs (brtags) that appear first as mental events that arise in our stream of consciousness and then later in our observable behavior. The continuum of mental experience, once defiled by cumulative bad karmic actions, tends to perpetuate itself and deepen its defiled condition over time, and over many lifetimes. As a result, the ordinary mind at any given moment is characterized primarily by the unfolding of habitually negative mind-states.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“The goal of concentration is to stabilize the mind so that the mind stays continuously and completely on the intended meditation object; the goal of ordinary special insight is the direct experience of emptiness; and the goal of the extraordinary or essence practices is full awakening, or enlightenment.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“root instructions: Here is the skillful means for not inhibiting the moment-by-moment arising [thol skye]. Think about slackening [the mind] so that the progression of one [subtle] thought after another isn’t cut off. Then, except for that one thought, ease up, relax, and allow thoughts to do whatever they will, and they won’t affect you. Be mindful without either [trying to] prevent or not prevent them. Act only like a shepherd. Once you set it up like this, don’t allow any thoughts to elaborate. During this staying-calm practice, from the mind-perspective, staying one-pointedly becomes somewhat firm as these occur.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“the term awareness is used once again to convey the mind’s direct knowing of dependent origination, namely the nontemporal or always-here (ma skye ba) condition of the natural mind. At the very advanced level of nonmeditation practice, the term awareness-itself is used to convey the quality of nonartificial, direct, and pervasive knowing that reflects the fully realized mind. Awareness, as the natural condition of the mind’s knowing, is only possible when not obscured by the mind’s content at either the coarse, subtle, or very subtle level.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“whatever arises gets transformed into clarity. Eventually every occurring event in the unfolding mental continuum that is simply recognized without obstruction reinforces the perception of the mind’s natural state of clarity and luminosity.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“the practitioner tries to recognize (ngo bzhung) whatever arises exactly as it arises. From this stance the practitioner discovers, rather than ordinary mental elaboration, a natural tendency for the mind to calm itself and simplify its content.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“Examples of aggregated simple appearances occurring during concentration include: seeds (thig le), subtle attributes (mtshan ma phra mo), and light rays (od zer gyi yan lag; JP, f. 36b). These are all experienced as a consequence of visualization. Because they appear during meditation, they are classified as perceptual events, and are therefore considered to be supports to concentration training.366 Seeds (thig le) are the most common type of aggregated simple appearance used in concentration training. A seed is a highly condensed perceptual event. In its simplest absorbed (bsdu ba’i thig le) form a seed is largely undifferentiated. A seed no longer pertains to a single sense modality like a visual form, but has “condensed the six sense systems into one” (RD, p. 6). A seed is the pool of sensory information occurring prior to the occurrence of a specific perception. A seed condenses all potential phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa within it. If it were thoroughly analyzed, the practitioner would find the seed ultimately to be the essential nature (rang bzhin) of all phenomena, namely space. Yet, just as something seems to arise from nothing, specific appearances come forth from a seed.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“Buddhism defines everyday unhappiness in terms of a habitual dysfunction in the way we process our experience. Seen in this way, it can be identified and corrected, and the root of everyday unhappiness can be eradicated.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“Over time, holding the body perfectly in the seven-point posture becomes natural and easy. Such skill eventually develops that at the onset of each sitting meditation session the body naturally settles into itself”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“The spinal column should be straightened “as if it were beads fastened together on a string” (JP, f. 6a). Keeping the spine straight is particularly important because it aligns the subtle energy channels in the body, especially the central channel, which in turn helps stabilize the mind.310 Proper placement of the hands in the equipose posture means that the left hand is on the bottom. The chest is lifted slightly and expanded. The shoulders are pulled back so that the diaphragm is allowed to expand.311 The neck is bent slightly like a fish hook or a cane. The tongue is held at the roof of the mouth, while the teeth and lips are left relaxed. The positioning of the eyes is very important. Tashi Namgyel recommends keeping them slightly open, unfocused at the tip of the nose. Jampel Pawo suggests looking, unfocused, “the distance of one yoke” (about four feet) in front. Either way an unfocused gaze “controls contact with the senses” (reg pa dbang pos bsgyur; JP, f. 6b). By fixing the gaze, the practitioner not only re-orders a point of the posture but restricts any interaction with and perception of the surroundings at the same time.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“the practitioner perceives the inner activity of the body as the manifestation of numerous energy currents (rlung). The term rlung literally means “moving air,” such as the “wind,” or the “breath.” Here it refers to subtle energy currents that move throughout the body. They move in channels (rtsa), which become increasingly discernible with experience. The quality of movement of these currents as well as their direction are correlated with both the rhythm of the breath and the flow of events within the mental continuum. The more chaotic the elaboration of thought within the mental continuum, the greater the disorganization of energy flow within the body. There are five main channels (rlung lnga) as well as numerous subsidiary ones (yan lag gi rlung) described in the Buddhist tantras. Each of the five main channels is associated with one of the five elements (’byung ba lnga), one of the five conflicting emotional states (nyon mong), one of the coarse bodily functions, and one of the body points. Table 6 gives these correlations. TABLE 6: CORRELATION OF ENERGY CURRENTS WITH BODY POINTS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONSa Name of Energy Current Related Body Points Physiological Function 1. Inspiration (thur sel) Crossed legs Excretion 2. Expiration (kyen rgyu) Hands in equipose Speaking 3. Firelike (me mnyam) Spine and upper trunk Digestion 4. All-pervasive (khyab byed) Neck and tongue Muscular activity 5. Vital force (srog ’dzin) Gaze Breathing a”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition

“Contemplation and meditation are learning processes, much like learning to drive a car. Most student drivers feel completely overwhelmed the first time they attempt to drive, because they must (1) steer to keep the car on the road, (2) adjust the speed with the accelerator, (3) adjust the geer ratio with the shift, according to the speed, and (4) constantly keep vigilant about doing each of these tasks well. Once learned, or indeed overlearned, driving becomes second nature. Little awareness is needed to perform all of the requisite driving skills quickly and effortlessly. Learning to meditate is very similar, in that it requires four similar skills—directing, intensifying, pliancy, and intelligence.”
― Daniel P. Brown, Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition