Truth Is Truth | Atisha's 7-Point Mind Training

In this session, I discuss the first strength. Sutra of the day: Truth is Truth. When meditation becomes a lifestyle, 5 strengths span not only the meditative moments but the entire life. Even in the moments close to death, one remains rooted in 5 strengths. These are:

1. Truth
2. Silence
3. Awareness
4. Love
5. Energy

Join me in a 30 min LIVE meditation session every day at 7 AM CET on my website.

Transcript

A very warm welcome to all of you in this daily morning live meditation session with me the Anse.

There are three ways to approach knowledge.

The first is science.

Science is like a child,

Like a teenager who is just discovering the world,

Who is making connections,

Logics,

Finding ways to explain what's happening in existence and creating those meanings for oneself.

If you look at the modern science,

It's only 200-300 years old and that teenage adolescence of science is giving it the arrogance.

It gives science a feeling that it knows.

It gives a definitive feeling to the science that what it is saying it is the way it is and it is discovering something for the very first time.

This existence has always been there and there have been so many different approaches to discover and to live and to open up what this existence means,

How to live and where to go.

Science is just in the childhood,

In the teenage of discovering that.

So that's one way of approaching the knowing,

The knowledge,

Life.

The other is of religion,

Which is also somewhat like at the other end of the spectrum,

Is like an old man.

Religion is like an old man.

It has a lot of experience,

It has seen a lot,

But somehow it's also getting somewhat outdated.

It's becoming ritualistic.

From what it has gathered,

From what it has seen,

It is framing everything into practices,

Into rituals,

Into assuming that this is how it is and it will never be anything different.

So religion is also somewhat slightly off.

These two approaches sit in two different extremes and in the middle is spirituality.

It is where the youth is,

It is where the energy is,

It is where there is experience,

But there is no definitive experience.

It is where everything is alive,

Everything is in the moment.

It is not conclusive,

It is not making judgments too fast,

Too soon.

And it is not like the religion which is already also becoming definitive and getting closed in boxes,

Getting closed in rituals,

In practices.

Spirituality is very much in the middle.

It flows along with the flow of life.

It flows along with the existence and discovers it in the moment,

The way it is,

Just the way it is right now.

These 30 minutes every morning that we put together,

You and I,

Is moving one step closer to spirituality through meditation,

Through contemplation,

Through discourse and bringing our life,

Putting our life slightly back in order.

Currently,

We are going through a series of seven-point mind training which was given by a meditation master known as Atisha.

And now we are on point number four of these seven points which is the very heart of this training,

Which is the very heart of this mind training which is not just opening up the mind,

Making it empty,

Moving it towards silence,

But also opening up,

Unfolding the heart and the spirit.

So we are at the very core of this mind training from Atisha on point number four.

And this is where the meditation practice becomes a lifestyle.

This is where meditation bears its fruits in life.

And Atisha in this point number four is also saying that take this practice of meditation and span it over your entire life,

Not just over your entire life,

But also even when you are close to death.

Let us hear what Atisha has to say and then dive into the sutra of today and meditate over it afterwards.

Point number four,

Atisha says,

Showing the utilization of practice in one's whole life.

Practice the five strengths,

The condensed heart instructions.

The Mahayana instruction for ejection of consciousness at death is the five strengths.

How you conduct yourself is important.

When you are dying,

Practice the five strengths.

What are these five strengths that Atisha is talking about?

What are these five strengths that you derive out of meditation and that you can take back in your life and span it over your entire life?

These strengths are rooted in truth,

Awareness,

Silence,

Love,

Energy.

These are the five strengths that Atisha is talking about and we will go through these strengths one by one which arise out of meditation as a natural course and which you can take and span it over your entire life.

The first sutra I would like to discuss today is Truth is Truth.

Truth is Truth.

What does that mean?

What is Truth?

Truth sounds abstract but it is not.

Truth is not abstract,

It is the clarity of your consciousness.

Truth is also not relative.

It doesn't work like you say this is my truth,

This is your truth,

This is somebody else's truth.

Truth is one.

When there is clarity in consciousness,

When there is no perspective,

When there is no opinion,

When mind is not in the way,

Then truth is.

In ordinary states we have the mind in between.

What you see,

What you hear,

All the perceptions,

All the experience,

All the knowledge of this world that you gather is through the mind and this mind is always in the way and we all have unique minds.

Our unique individuality is also through our unique minds and how it is shaped but that's not what decides what the truth is.

Mind does not decide what the truth is.

So you cannot say this is my truth and that is your truth.

What would be more fairer to say is this is how I perceive things,

This is how I view things and this is how you view things.

But if we want to meet beyond the views,

Beyond the opinions,

Beyond the mind,

Then we all meet in the truth.

Truth is truth,

Truth is one,

Truth is the clarity of consciousness.

Mooli Shah,

He was once on an interview to become a sailor.

So he was going through this interview where the interviewer asked him,

Okay Mooli,

If you are,

Imagine you are on the ship and you are in the middle of the ocean,

Deep ocean and you see the weather getting turbulent,

What will you do?

Mooli said I will take an anchor out,

I will throw it in the ocean,

I will wait for the weather to clear up.

So the interviewer said okay,

That's fine,

That's great but what if the weather gets even more turbulent,

There will be,

There are even more stronger waves that are now rising up and moving the ship right left and everything is becoming even more turbulent.

Mooli said no problem,

I will take out another bigger anchor,

Throw it in the ocean,

Stabilize the ship.

The interviewer said fine,

Okay but what if now there are even storms,

What if now the clouds are all dark and there are storms,

Heavy storms,

The ship is going really all the way upside,

Almost upside down,

The ocean is turbulent,

There are storms,

What will you do?

Mooli said I will take out another bigger anchor,

Throw it in the ocean and stabilize the ship,

Wait for everything to end.

The interviewer was getting curious and then he wanted to push it further,

So he created more and more conditions,

He said well imagine now everything is even more turbulent,

Everything is even more crazier,

You had never seen such a storm,

This has been the worst in the history,

What will you do?

And Mooli kept on replying the same answer,

He said I will pull out even a bigger anchor,

Throw it in the ocean,

Wait for the weather to go away,

Stabilize the ship.

The interviewer got almost mad listening to the same answer again and again,

He said Mooli,

Where are you going to get all these anchors which are you throwing in the water to stabilize the ship?

Mooli said from the same place you are getting all the storms,

All the turbulence and everything,

All the chaos,

I will get from the same place all these different anchors that I will put in the ocean.

Mooli was situated in the truth,

He could see through the lies,

He could see through the talk,

So his response was always situated in the truth,

Seeing through the lies and this is what you can also do in your life when you are rooted in truth,

When you are rooted in not your truth but in the truth,

Then when you go through life,

When you go through the turbulence of life,

When you go through the storms of life,

You can also pull out the same anchor from where the turbulence is coming,

From where the storms are coming and remain rooted in truth,

In clarity of consciousness at all times.

With that we will take this sutra,

Truth is truth into our meditation today and for the next minutes we will drop everything that is a lie and remain truthful,

Remain as truthful as we can,

Dropping layers of lies,

Layer by layer and coming to the truth,

Not your truth,

Not my truth and staying in it and seated in it for the next minutes.

Please close your eyes,

Take a posture which is comfortable for you,

With your back upright,

Legs and hands rested.

Take a nice deep breath,

Inhale from the nose and exhale from the nose.

For these few moments,

Drop all the lies,

Whatever your mind is telling you,

It's all lies.

Whatever your body is giving you as a sensation are all lies.

Let go of these lies,

Move towards the truth.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Whatever arises in your consciousness,

Let that go,

Move towards the truth.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

The sensations in your body is not the truth,

Let it go.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

The activity of your mind is not the truth,

Let it go,

Let it settle.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

All anchors are lies.

Don't anchor yourself anywhere.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let consciousness unfold on its own as you rest,

As your body and mind gets out of the way.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

All perceptions are lies,

Move towards the truth.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

Let go of these lies,

Let go of these lies.

This silence,

This awareness is the path towards the truth.

Let it unfold,

Let it grow in you.

Let it unfold,

Let it grow in you.

Let it unfold,

Let it grow in you.

Let it unfold,

Let it grow in you.

Let it unfold,

Let it grow in you.

Let it unfold,

Let it grow in you.

Let it unfold,

Let it grow in you.

If you wish to stay longer in this silence,

Keep your eyes closed and remain in meditation.

Otherwise,

Very gently and slowly,

You may open your eyes,

Maintaining this sense of truthfulness,

Silence,

Awareness of this moment.

Take this silence,

Awareness and truthfulness in your day as you encounter the lies,

Remain seated in the truth.

Don't get carried away with the illusion.

Don't get carried away with the lies.

Truth is truth,

Not yours,

Not mine.

Truth is one and that is the foundation of our life.

I'll see you tomorrow at 7 am Central European Time.

Namaste.

Reviews

I love all of Dhyanse’s Lojong teachings and meditations. It’s so hard to find someone who presents all of the slogans like he has. Thank you!