Join host Michael Taft as he continues his talk with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about Ken’s new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, and issues around receiving initiations and empowerments, the experiential component, aspects of White Tara and Mahakala practices, the power of mystical poetry, and the future of Vajrayana in the West.
Join host Michael Taft as he talks with translator, author, and teacher Ken McLeod about the subject of Ken’s new book: The Magic of Vajrayana, particularly the tripartite practice structure of guru, deity, and protector in Tibetan Buddhism.
Nondual Guided Meditation with Michael Taft Okay, so let’s begin. I want you to simply check in with yourself, ask yourself the question; what’s it like to be me right now? And by me, I… Read More »The Burning Fire of Awareness
Nondual Meditation with Michael Taft Meditation Wow, got a lot of people here tonight. That’s great. So let’s begin simply by checking in, not meditating, not doing anything special, just tuning in to how it… Read More »The Freedom of Groundlessness
Now again, into the sky of liberated utterly joyous, boundless awakeness imagine this fountain again, the fountain of pure, in this case, joy, kindness, belonging, and compassion, love, and picture this fountain radiating out from your body in all directions, shooting out so high and so wide that it’s bringing this love and joy and kindness to everyone everywhere, all people everywhere, all animals everywhere, all beings of every kind everywhere, and by everywhere I mean in all universes, the energy of touching their heart filling them with a real sense of being seen and held and loved and nurtured and cared for and then because it’s an imaginal fountain turn it up 10 times, 10 times as strong, 10 times as gentle, 10 times as sweet, and then even more, and then even more. Soaking universe after universe in divine love and joy and kindness.
No matter how much thinking arises in this vast, boundless space, the space of awareness is not disturbed at all. It remains perfectly still. No matter how much emotional difficulty or physical pain arises in this space, awareness itself is not bothered or harmed in any way. This vast space of awareness is not something we create or generate, it’s already there from the very beginning. I would say we just have to notice it, except it’s what’s noticing. So we don’t even have to notice it. It’s always there, all along in every experience.
Nothing to do at all. Just resting in being that’s always been there already completely perfect. Rest in this wakefulness you already always are. This vast sky of boundless, timeless awakening, crisp, clear, and bright now notices the sun rising again and in it the sun is radiant and effulgent and powerful, radiating out a kind of tremendous peacefulness and joy in all directions. It radiates out kindness and love in all directions, radiates confidence and nobility in all directions. It radiates belonging and connection in all directions growing brighter and stronger and fuller with each breath, more and more beautiful with each breath.
Awareness is prior to you, it’s prior to thoughts, it’s prior to feelings, it’s prior even to the world. It’s just there and it’s not a special thing, it’s not a special object, of course. It’s empty so it’s not even an object at all. But it’s not special, okay, so you don’t have to generate it. It’s always there. It’s always there. It’s always there. So when we’re not all caught up in something it just makes it easier to rest in that. That’s it.
It’s funny, you don’t really have to pretend or imagine that you are like the sky because that is the actual nature of your own awareness, your own mind. Already, since the very beginning, your natural mind is wide open, utterly awake and aware and bright: effortless, welcoming, clear, and beautiful. So just notice that nature of your own mind and just rest as that. It’s not something you’re generating, it’s always been there. It’s not something you have to find, it’s the thing that’s looking. Rest as what you naturally always already are, before everything.
We rest as bright, clear, awake awareness and that we can rest in. And when we’re resting as awareness, awareness is not a tennis shoe and a dryer, it’s a vast sky that is always peaceful, that is loving, that is joyous, that is really bright, that’s really awake, and then if there are thoughts happening? Great. If there are other emotions happening? Great. If there are social feelings happening? Great, right? All that is fine because we’re resting as this natural awareness and it’s spacious, there’s room, there’s room for everything to happen.
Awareness is already effortlessly aware. Awareness has no location so it can’t be over here looking at something over there. Or to put it in another way, to say it has no location is the same thing as saying it’s located everywhere. But it has no positionality so it’s not looking one way or another; that’s just a way we talk.
Okay. Good, and now just for a moment, like one minute, I want you to just open up to the already existing naturally present vast spaciousness of your own awareness. So just relax as open awareness, not forcing it to be open but allowing yourself to just notice that awareness itself is naturally boundless vast open at ease bright clear, and so on. And just notice that for just a little while here
In this place there’s nothing to do, there’s nothing to change, everything is just right. Just rest into, rest as, vast, spacious awareness. Already awake, totally clear, utterly complete. Nothing to do and no doer.