Hello everyone,
Online and in person.
We are gathered here to walk on the path of the Mahamudra that was laid 800 years ago by a teacher called Tilopa.
This is our third station on the path.
In the last couple of weeks we have been going through the first two chapters of this journey.
I am going to quickly review what we did so far.
In the first chapter,
Tilopa addresses his one and only disciple,
Niropa,
Who was ready to receive the very special type of knowledge his master was about to share.
He was sharing it in the form of a poem because in the first sentence of that poem,
Tilopa says that they are about to go on an impossible journey where there is practically no way to explain or to express in words and concepts or symbols the experience of the Mahamudra.
But thanks to Niropa who was ready and ripe,
Tilopa says he has no chance but to share this knowledge.
And the only way he can think of doing that is in the form of a poem.
He would sing it.
And we are following this song of Tilopa.
And today we are going to follow the third chapter of that poem.
So I am going to just read it.
You have it in your chat box you can follow.
And then we are going to dive deep into that knowledge here.
But before we do I would like to invite everybody to know and remember that the Mahamudra is truly beyond words and concepts.
So don't get too stuck trying to figure it out,
To get the point.
It's not about and it never was about getting the point.
But finding that very delicate invitation that hides between the words,
In the gaps between the words.
See if you can tune to that very delicate frequency.
So the nature of darkness and light.
Chapter 3.
The song continues.
The darkness of ages cannot shroud the glowing sun.
The long kalpas of samsara neither can hide.
The mind's brilliant light.
The words are spoken to explain the void.
The void as such can never be expressed.
Though we say the mind is bright as light,
It is beyond all words and symbols.
Although the mind is void in essence,
All things it embraces and contains.
So we need to address darkness and what it is.
Before we address light,
What is the nature of darkness?
Think about it for a minute.
Darkness we can address as an entity,
But in actuality darkness is not an entity.
Darkness is not a thing,
It's absence of things.
Darkness is a non-entity.
Isn't it?
You cannot do anything with darkness.
You cannot fight darkness.
You cannot win darkness.
You cannot surrender to darkness.
Because darkness is not there.
There is nothing there that you can directly relate to darkness.
Emptiness,
Void.
The absence of things.
The absence of matter,
Energy,
Or ideas about matter and energy.
People often mistake trying to fight against darkness.
What is morality?
Trying to fight against what we identify as bad,
Bad behavior,
Bad emotions.
Ignorance.
People can devote their lives trying to fight against it,
While there is actually nothing to fight against,
Because darkness is not a thing.
It's like trying to win a battle with a fictional entity that doesn't exist.
This is very important to realize before we dive into it.
The nature of darkness is that it doesn't exist.
It's a non-entity.
Therefore,
You cannot win fighting darkness.
You will always lose.
Trying to be moral and win over undesired experiences,
Undesired emotions,
Undesired behavior,
This is a guaranteed failure.
You are trying to win a fight against an enemy that is not there.
This nature of darkness has to be realized before we dive into this text.
Before diving into this text,
I would like to invite you guys online and in person to be a part of this discussion.
This is not a lecture.
I didn't come prepared.
So the more you are involved,
The more you ask,
The more you contribute to this voyage.
So let's go into the text.
The darkness of ages cannot shroud the glowing sun.
This is so beautiful.
You see,
There could be three ways to describe reality.
There is the scientific way,
There is the philosophical way,
And then there is the spiritual way.
The scientific way is about experiencing,
Examining,
Rationalizing it through the observation and the experience of the researcher.
He can prove by trial and error,
Through the process of the experiment.
A philosopher thinks in concepts.
He tries to describe reality in concepts.
He is not bothered about trying to prove anything.
He speaks in concepts and ideas about reality.
But the spiritual man uses a third type of observation that is more about using the power of metaphor.
So the spiritual man uses metaphors in order to help us realize reality.
This is what Tilopa is doing.
He is using metaphor.
He is taking something that we can grasp,
Using that as a metaphor to the realization of consciousness that he has obtained.
So again,
Don't be too hung up on the metaphor.
Try to find that specific phenomenon in your experience.
Think about it in the broader terms.
Use it as an invitation.
But don't get too hung up on the specific metaphor,
As if it was a direct description,
Like a manual of how to experience it.
So the darkness of ages cannot shroud the glowing sun.
Again,
The darkness is there.
Think about the history of the cosmos.
There is a huge space filled with nothing.
There is nothingness in space.
Until matter materialized.
It came from far away,
Gathered momentum,
Gathered mass,
Created a big enough mass to attract more mass and more matter and more energy.
More and more feminine energy is there,
Concentrating,
Condensing matter and energy into stars.
And once a star is lit,
Darkness is gone.
It doesn't matter how long darkness was there.
Isn't it?
Could be billions of years.
Countless number of years.
But as soon as the star is lit and it shines light,
Darkness is gone.
And it leaves no mark,
No trace.
That's the history of astronomy.
Right?
That's how the universe has evolved.
And this is a beautiful metaphor of our consciousness.
I would say the best way to describe this metaphor when it comes to our consciousness is to refer to darkness as ignorance.
And the light is knowledge.
The more knowledge is there,
The less ignorant you are.
Isn't it?
Isn't it?
Same.
The more light there is,
There is no darkness.
Instead of trying to find the darkness,
To chase the darkness away,
The only thing you need to do is add some knowledge,
Self-knowledge.
And this will replace darkness effortlessly.
It's a natural flow of events.
When light is there,
Darkness is gone.
They say that this is the role of the spiritual master,
No?
If you live in a dark house,
The spiritual master is like a window in that brick wall that allows light to come in.
And as soon as light is in,
Darkness is gone.
The house is lit,
That's it.
This sentence is so important.
The long kalpas of samsara neither can hide the mind's brilliant light.
Kalpas is a Sanskrit word for ages and ages,
Years and years,
Extremely long period of time.
Samsara,
You know what it is,
No?
It's that never-ending circle of suffering.
Birth,
Suffering,
Death,
Reborn,
Birth,
Suffering,
Death,
Reborn,
Repeat.
This is samsara.
So the ages,
The years,
The long years of samsara,
Neither can hide the mind's brilliant light.
This is very important.
Why?
Because it's only too common to find people that are victimizing themselves over the idea that they've been suffering too long,
They've been victimized by their own story.
You know,
Think about your life.
How many times did you hear yourself say,
That's always been the case with me?
That has always been the case with me.
I've got lifetime years of experience,
And I know that for a fact.
And then whatever you believe about yourself.
I cannot do this,
I cannot do that.
I'm not good at this,
I'm not good at that.
I hate this.
I only want that.
How many times have you heard yourself saying something like that?
Based on previous experience,
Based on past events.
You think you already know.
Hmm?
You think you already know.
What is your capabilities and what is your limits.
And you build a personality around that.
And here comes Tilopa saying,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No.
This is based on lack of self-knowledge,
Ignorance,
Darkness.
Any idea you think you have about yourself is ignorance.
An awakened consciousness like Tilopa's doesn't have any idea about itself.
Any past impression that clouds its clear vision.
And that allows life to be spontaneous.
A spontaneous event.
To be experienced as a spontaneous event.
Why?
Because there is no darkness clouding your vision.
No darkness clouding your vision.
People have this idea,
Not about just their current life,
But about their previous lives as well.
I don't know,
People say something like,
I don't know how to explain this is my karma.
It's probably something that I did in my previous life.
You know?
The never-ending cycle of suffering.
Which controls the way I allow myself to experience life today.
This is ignorance.
This is darkness.
The mind's brilliant light.
The mind's brilliant light.
When it ignites,
Darkness is just a non-entity,
It disappears.
There is no darkness when light is there.
Don't try to fight your samsara.
Don't try to fight your ill fortune.
Don't try to oppose life's circumstances.
Don't try to limit your own experience based on preconcepts you have about your abilities and capabilities.
The only thing you need to do is to allow that mind to ignite and start spreading light.
This will chase darkness away.
And it doesn't matter how many years you've been experiencing yourself as such.
This is Tilopa's point here.
The effect of adding knowledge,
Of igniting your mind into self-realization is immediate.
Darkness cannot leave any mark in the room.
Once you light a small candle,
That's it.
Darkness goes away.
And it doesn't leave any mark.
So,
The mind is not a self-realized entity.
It's a self-realized entity.
It's a self-realized entity.
It's a self-realized entity.
Darkness goes away.
And it doesn't leave any mark.
This is a huge realization.
People have so many stories about themselves.
I'm a bad person.
I did bad things.
I deserve to suffer.
Either because of my past actions,
My past decisions,
Or either because I just carry that along because of my ancestors,
My karma,
Whatever.
After the Second World War,
There was a whole generation of people that carried that blame of what their parents and grandparents did.
That's darkness.
Lack of self-awareness.
And this can be.
.
.
Gone in an instant,
Leaving no mark,
Once the mind's brilliant light is lit.
If you believe in that circle of suffering as described by in the Bible,
You will be able to see that darkness is a circle of suffering.
A circle of suffering as described by ancient Indians.
This is.
.
.
Imagine.
.
.
Think about it.
It's revolutionary.
You can stop samsara in an instant.
Right now.
You can stop that.
It's not a destiny.
It's not a.
.
.
Fate.
That there is nothing you can do about it.
It was never the case.
You just need to allow your brilliant light to lit up.
And this is done by adding knowledge.
Reconnect to the true nature of your own self.
What do you say?
I'm going to take a break here.
I've been speaking too much.
What are your thoughts up to now?
Last Thursday,
After we came here on Wednesday,
I woke up in the morning and the first thought in my mind,
And it wasn't just a thought,
It was like a voice that said the word.
I heard this,
Samsara.
Samsara.
Yeah,
Samsara.
And then I woke up in the morning and I was like,
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
I'm going to do this.
And then I woke up and I'm like,
I don't even know what that is.
And.
.
.
Did you Google it?
Yeah,
I Googled it.
Yeah.
And?
Oh yeah,
Just yeah,
The cycle of death,
Death and rebirth.
And yeah.
So he's sharing how he woke up from his night's sleep and this word,
Samsara,
Was there,
Even though he didn't know the meaning of it.
So he Googled it.
What is samsara?
Samsara is.
.
.
Suffering.
Experiencing life through that lens of suffering.
Everything is suffering.
Suffering,
Not just because,
You know,
There is a specific phenomenon that you reject or.
.
.
Fight against.
But the mere concept of me experiencing my life in a body again,
This is already suffering.
I can tell you from personal experience,
I've been in that place many times,
Thinking,
What the hell am I doing here in a body again?
I thought I was.
.
.
Past that long ago.
The mere reborn phenomena is already suffering.
Buddha described it so beautifully.
He says.
.
.
He's cutting it into four pieces.
He calls it the four noble truths.
He says the first noble truth is suffering.
The second noble truth is life is suffering.
Suffering is everywhere.
Every aspect of your existence is shrouded by suffering,
As long as you don't know who you are.
You meet life in this.
.
.
Context of me against life.
It's like we used that metaphor in the past,
You know,
It's that wave that can only remember its own private separated existence,
Only the waviness of its own existence.
And he's not connected to the knowledge that he's just an oceanic expression,
Temporary oceanic expression.
So he lives his life in that distorted.
.
.
Fictional identity that is separated from life.
So it's always about me not having enough.
And having to protect the little I have from life.
Cravings and aversions,
Cravings and aversions.
So.
.
.
The second noble truth is.
.
.
There is a way out,
Out of suffering.
The third noble truth is.
.
.
I can teach you how to do it.
And the fourth noble truth is,
Let me show you how.
So as long as you don't.
.
.
Awake to that knowledge and apply it and.
.
.
Ground yourself in it,
Integrate it in your.
.
.
Very existence,
Your life is an expression of suffering.
And this is called samsara.
You go through life generating karma,
Generating.
.
.
Disturbances that are caused by your own ego.
Trying to protect what it has,
It has,
Or fighting.
.
.
To.
.
.
Fill the emptiness from the outside in.
Your ego generates more karma,
More karma.
This is called karma yoga.
It's action that generates more karma.
And all this karma is going with you to the grave,
So you are reborn as an expression of that karma,
Again and again and again.
This is samsara.
For thousands of years,
Thousands of reincarnations,
This is how we are.
.
.
Flowing through life.
And it doesn't matter if you are a Buddhist or not.
It doesn't matter if you believe that this ends in 80 years and.
.
.
Then we are food for the worms and that's it.
Still,
In these 80 years,
This is the context of how you experience your life.
As a separated entity fighting with life,
Protecting itself against life.
Hiding from the perceived darkness.
Trying to avoid the pain and cling to the pleasure.
Craving and aversions,
Cravings and aversions,
Right?
Again and again and again and again.
And Tilopa says,
And you may think,
You know,
This is how it's been with me since I can remember.
This is who I am.
This is the context of my existence.
This is how I know to live my life.
What to do?
I cannot just change it.
Tilopa says,
Yes.
Not just that you can change it and it can happen instantly.
Effortlessly.
You don't even need to fight your history,
Your past carnations or your past impressions about this carnation.
You don't need to fight darkness because darkness is not there at all.
The only thing you need to do is wake up to your own true nature and shine that light.
That light will chase the darkness effortlessly.
Thank you.
So Angie is asking,
No,
She's saying we create our own darkness.
In a way we do,
Yeah.
We create our own darkness.
At least we relate to that darkness as an entity that we need to fight against.
And that creates a never-ending misery.
Darkness is not there and we don't need to fight it.
We don't need to try to be moral people because moral is just a pile of ideas about wrong doings and right doings.
You cannot be righteous if there is no meanness in you,
Right?
You cannot be celibate if you are not really obsessed about sex.
Do you see what I'm saying?
You cannot be good however you define it without having badness in you percolating.
So instead of trying to suppress the badness,
To suppress your sexuality,
To suppress your sexual desire,
You know,
Instead of trying to create an artificial set of ideas and values more prominent than the others,
Just so you can call yourself righteous or spiritual or any other idea you might have about yourself or who you want to be or how you want to be perceived,
All this is nonsense.
Theolopa is saying,
Don't spend your life wasting your energy trying to be someone.
You just need to ignite the mind's brilliant light by adding knowledge,
Self-knowledge.
Do you see what I'm saying?
Chad is asking,
Is this going to be your last life?
I don't know.
It doesn't matter.
What matters is how I live my life,
How you live your life.
How you live your life.
So Chad is asking,
Have you figured it all out?
That's a beautiful question.
Based on the idea there is something there to be figured out.
I told you,
The journey is not about figuring it out.
It's not about getting the point.
There is no point.
And if you need to have a point,
Let the point be this,
Open your heart.
Make sure that your heart is open whenever to everything you encounter.
If you need a point in life,
Make it this point.
Nothing in life can happen that will oblige you to close your heart,
To protect yourself against it.
No.
You can ask me,
Is your heart open?
The answer is yes.
And you can extrapolate from that any idea you have about me.
Do you see what I'm saying?
Don't worry about trying to figure it out.
Life is much more mysterious than what you can figure out.
It's not about getting the point.
It's about remaining in the origin point.
And as soon as you diverge away from it,
Remind yourself that you are not alone.
And as soon as you diverge away from it,
Remind yourself to go back to it.
Again and again and again.
Joe is asking,
I tend to forget the fact that I am not my story.
How can I remind myself and be on this path?
Beautiful question.
First of all,
The realization,
I am not my story,
Is so powerful.
Even if you tend to forget it from time to time,
Just the fact that you know that this is the truth is so powerful.
Many people,
Most people don't realize that.
Never.
And they are completely identified with the story that they tell themselves about themselves.
And go about life as if there is a separated identity there that is negotiating with life.
Even though that's a complete folly.
So embrace the moment,
The moments when you do remember that you are not alone.
When you do remember that the story that you tell yourself is a joke.
And nothing in your past truly can inhibit your freedom.
Tilopa says,
It's only an instant turn on the light and darkness is gone.
Leaving no marks.
Don't worry about your past.
Your past cannot limit your freedom.
Could never limit your freedom.
Doesn't matter what happened there.
Doesn't matter how traumatic it was.
Doesn't matter how many bad deeds you've accumulated according to the culture and the society and what other people think and what you think about yourself.
All these are illusions.
Ignorance.
Darkness.
You just need to wake up,
Realize.
It's got nothing to do with who you are.
And if you keep forgetting what to do,
Joe,
To stay on this path.
I recommend to keep those four pillars alive in your daily life.
Seva,
Psat San,
Psat Dana,
Psat Guru.
The four S.
Seva is a consciousness that is oriented to service.
Dedicate your life to service.
Or at least as many free moments as you can spare.
Find somebody that needs help.
Help them.
Come in this attitude.
I'm here for you.
What can I do for you?
Tell me.
No random acts of kindness.
With no agenda.
No,
You don't expect anything in return.
You just train your whole system to be in this giving position.
It's like a simulation of enlightenment.
And the more your system is attuned to that frequency,
The more easy for you is to stay on the path.
This is Seva.
Psat San is being surrounded by the right-minded people that helps you grow,
Supports your growth,
Instead of suppressing it.
You know,
Like usually what people around us do,
They complain.
And just to be in this giving position.
Justify the fact that we are suffering.
Because everybody is suffering.
And then at the end of the evening,
You feel even more drained than you were when you entered the room.
Energy is going lower and lower and lower.
And also find a group of people that can help the energy rise.
Where you feel blessed by the time you spent with them.
Just like we do now,
Virtually.
Find it in real life.
People are there looking for the same thing as you.
You just need to find them.
Sadhana is the practice.
You keep practicing.
It's very important in the life of the spiritual seeker.
Keep reminding yourself.
You use ceremonies,
You know,
You practice yoga,
Meditation,
Whatever.
Whatever you do that helps you remember.
All right,
This is who I am.
This is what's most important for me.
Okay,
Yes,
I remember now.
I forgot,
But now I remember.
I once was blind,
But now I see.
Yes?
And the last one is Sadguru.
Sadguru is the teacher.
The presence of a teacher in a spiritual seeker's life is crucial,
Essential.
Even though it's not so much in our culture,
In the Western world,
I strongly recommend,
Find a teacher that you can trust and surrender.
Surrender to.
It's so powerful.
It's that window in your dark house that allows light to come in and fill your room with light.
And that's it.
That's the only thing you need,
Just a little bit of light.
Don't worry about the dark room.
Just a little bit of light,
A small candle,
That's enough.
Right?
So let's go back to the text.
Though words are spoken to explain the void,
The void as such can never be expressed.
Yeah,
We've been spending the last hour trying to explain what it is.
But you do understand that this is an impossible task.
It cannot be explained or expressed.
It has to be directly experienced.
How do you know that you experience the void?
The void is not the darkness.
Don't confuse between these two terms.
The void is the lack of all ideas and concepts.
Within the void,
Everything is included.
You know,
They say that it only takes two steps to enlightenment.
The first step is know that you are nothing.
And the second step is know that you are everything.
Everything.
But you cannot jump into conclusions.
That's the.
.
.
There is an order here.
You have to go through the void.
You have to go through realizing that everything that you thought about life,
Everything that you believed about yourself,
All the stories that you've been telling yourself and identifying with,
All those were just follies,
Illusions,
Maya.
So as you drop those false identifications one by one,
You can use the white path to do that,
The path that I'm teaching.
No,
I am not my body.
I'm not my breath.
Not my intellect.
Not my mind.
Not my story.
Not my ego.
I'm none of those.
And then you float in the void.
There is nothing there to identify with.
And you shout and you cry,
Who am I?
And there is nothing echoing back to you as an answer.
There is just silence.
There is just silence.
And the silence consumes your cry.
And there is nothing out there.
This is terrifying.
If you come to that state of being,
Where you truly let go of all your identifications,
And just remain with this question,
Then who am I?
And there is no answer.
Consider yourself to be very lucky.
You are one of the very,
Very few people to reach that state of consciousness.
Brave enough to be with a question even though there is no answer,
And there can be no answer anymore.
I am nothing.
And then second realization comes.
Everything.
Everything is included in that void.
There is nothing that is left out of that void.
If there is no determination of who I am anymore,
There is no fence that is bordering,
Saying I am up to here and from here forward I am not.
If that fence doesn't exist,
Then the very definition of self expands into eternity.
Existing beyond the realms of space and time.
I am everything.
All is included.
This is Tantra.
This is the essence of Tantra.
And don't try to understand what I am saying.
Do you understand?
It's not for the intellect.
It's way,
Way bigger than the intellect.
I am nothing opens up the second step to enlightenment.
Realizing I am everything.
All is included.
All is included.
The void as such can never be expressed.
My words are just invitations.
Try to see if you can dive to that frequency that hides between the words,
Between the concepts.
Do we say the mind is bright as light?
It's beyond all words and symbols.
Remember,
This is just an analogy.
How do you say?
How did you call it before?
A metaphor.
You know,
People come,
Yes,
I've seen the light.
You know,
I sat for meditation and there was a huge light,
White light.
I've seen the light.
That's it.
I've got it.
I've achieved it.
Finally.
It's like Tilopa said.
It's my mind is a bright light.
I've experienced it.
Tilopa says,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No.
What I'm talking about is beyond any experience,
Beyond any concept,
Beyond any word,
Beyond any symbol.
Don't try to,
Fool yourself to believe that through an experience you've been able to attain it.
There is no manual here.
Okay,
I've seen the light in my meditation.
Check.
Next.
It doesn't work like that.
It doesn't work like that.
This is often happening to people on the spiritual path,
You know.
They have this amazing experience.
You know,
I was completely empty.
There was an experience of oneness.
Oneness was experienced through me.
There was no I anymore.
There was only brilliant silence or a white light.
Doesn't matter.
People have all types of experiences and they believe that's it,
You know.
Okay,
That's it.
My journey is done.
This is exactly how it's described in the scriptures.
That's it.
I must be enlightened.
And then they get hooked up on this experience,
Trying to reduplicate it again and again,
Trying to chase it,
To bring it back.
That only is another trap they put on their path.
Now it's a spiritual trap,
As opposed to material traps that we usually use.
I tell you,
Don't try to create a new identity around your experiences,
Even if these experiences are the most fantastic,
Spiritual,
Enlightened experiences.
Enlightenment is not about the experience.
If you get too hung up on the experience,
Sooner or later you will get tired,
You'll get bored.
Enlightenment itself will be boring to you.
Not to mention the mundane life that you have to continue living in this body.
It's not about the experience.
It's not about the experience.
It's about realizing the nature of the experiencer.
Don't be a chaser of experiences.
You know those spiritual shoppers that jump from one workshop to another,
To another,
One silence retreat,
One yoga retreat,
One teacher,
Another teacher,
One book,
Another book,
Trying to obtain that idea that they have about what enlightenment is.
Trying to get the point.
Don't worry about that.
You just wake up to the nature of the observer,
Of your own self,
And not the experiences that you are gathering along your path.
Hmm?
Baba is saying,
Open my heart.
It is the language of the heart.
100%.
What else?
Anything to share?
Why are we distinguishing between darkness and the void?
Darkness is a metaphor for all the things that we reject.
The void includes everything,
What we reject and what we embrace.
To me they're the same.
They are not.
Look,
Darkness is an illusion of an entity that we need to suppress.
The metaphor here is the void.
The void is all the things that we believe are bad and shouldn't be.
So,
Tilopa is saying,
Instead of trying to suppress and avoid and reject whole aspects of life just because you believe they are immoral,
Unrighteous,
Unjust,
Unspiritual,
Or whatever ideas you have,
Instead of trying to reject those,
Don't worry about it.
You just need to reconnect to the true nature of your own self.
This will go away.
And once you are reconnected with the self,
You realize that this vessel that we call your consciousness is wide enough to accept everything,
Include everything,
Good and bad,
Things that you are busy rejecting and things that you are busy embracing.
Both of them are there,
Included in you,
As an expression of you.
So,
Tantra is expanding beyond this duality of things that I want and things that I don't want.
Things that are desirable and things that are undesirable.
And this goes in this evolutionary process of letting go of everything that we believe about ourselves.
Letting go of all identities and personalities that we've built around our experiences.
Preconceptions,
Judgments,
Letting go of all that.
And slowly,
As you are relieved of those preconceptions and ideas about yourself,
You realize everything you believed to be,
You are not.
Until you come to that point where you're just left with the question,
Then,
Who am I?
And there is no,
You have no idea.
You have no idea.
There is no idea anymore that can describe you to you.
There is just mystery.
And surrendering to that mystery allows you to flower into the second realization that everything is me.
Always have been.
There is nothing out there which is not included.
This is the essence of Tantra.
Everything is included.
Where?
In me.
I am everything.
So,
This.
.
.
That's the essence of a hologram as well.
Of a hologram?
Yeah.
How come?
Because it includes everything,
But it's like nothing at the same time.
Right.
It says a hologram includes everything,
But it's nothing at the same time.
Yeah,
So it could be a metaphor.
A metaphor,
Yeah.
For what we are discussing now.
So,
So,
So,
Darkness is used As a metaphor?
As a way to help us on the path of realization only to then be included in the void.
Let's just say that.
Yeah.
So,
So,
So,
So,
So,
Let's use another metaphor.
Which I've already used in different contexts,
But I think it's really good.
An awakened consciousness is revealed to be as wide as the theater hall.
What is the purpose of a theater hall?
The purpose of a theater hall is to allow the play to be played and for the audience to enjoy it.
Right?
It's like a space that is all-allowing.
Now,
The show can be you know,
Funny or sad.
It could be a comedy or a tragedy.
It doesn't matter.
It could be things that we desire.
It could be things that we reject.
It doesn't matter.
Consciousness is there to allow the play to be played.
That's it.
Everything is included.
And even more,
Nothing on that stage that is currently happening can destroy the space that is allowing the play to be played.
There is no danger.
So that consciousness that is all-allowing is not intimidated anymore by changing events.
It's not busy trying to differentiate between desirable and undesirable,
Good and bad.
An awakened consciousness matures beyond that tendency to try to divide,
To try to create this duality,
Artificial duality.
I want,
I don't want.
There is no I that tries to define wants and the opposite of wants.
Don't wants.
Do you see what I'm saying?
Do you see what I'm saying?
That I,
That separated I that was so busy trying to manipulate life in that sense dissolved into a greater existence which is all-embracing that space that is all-allowing whatever show is currently happening to be experienced.
And you know the show eventually ends and the end and you know the actors go behind the curtains,
They change parts,
They change clothes,
They come back and there is a different show and now the bad guy is playing the good guy and the good guy is playing the bad guy.
So the space is all-allowing,
Un-intimidated.
So is an enlightened consciousness.
It embraces everything,
It embraces everything,
Allowing everything to be experienced,
Un-intimidated by it.
The show belongs to the realm of phenomena,
Changing events,
Temporary.
The theater hall is there,
Beyond the realm of time.
The theater hall will stay there even when all the shows have the end there,
Then they close the lights and everybody went home.
That space is still there and tomorrow when somebody will come and turn on the light again,
The space will be there.
Same as consciousness.
Do you see what I'm saying?
So that inner void is all-embracing,
All-including.
We've grown beyond that tendency to differentiate between desirable and undesirable,
Good and bad.
Although the mind is void in essence,
All things it embraces and contains.
So that emptiness,
I am nothing,
Is basically an invitation for everything to be included,
Everything to be experienced,
Beyond any type of duality.
It's so beautiful.
The mind itself is empty,
The hall,
The theater hall,
There is nothing there,
It's just space.
But that space allows everything to be experienced.
Do you see?
Consciousness is there,
Untamed by the reality of the mind.
Do you see?
Consciousness is there,
Untamed by changing events,
Unintimidated by changing events,
Because it exists in the realm that is beyond space and time.
It cannot be destroyed.
Next time you identify with anything,
Let's say for example with your story,
Like you said,
How can I remind myself that I'm not my story?
The answer is,
Remember,
Remind yourself,
The story is just an accumulation of changing events,
Things that start and end,
And other things that started and ended,
A whole pile of things,
Changing events.
Changing events.
But you,
You,
You that experience that,
You do not change.
The consciousness that allowed those experiences to be experienced,
That consciousness is eternal.
That is you.
You were never born,
And you will never die.
You exist beyond the realm of time.
That's why you cannot,
Or should not,
Be intimidated by your story.
There is no reason for you to be intimidated by it.
Just like the theater hall is not intimidated by the show that is currently being played.
Huh?
What do you say?
Any comments,
Questions,
Insights to share?
Your Tilopa is so ambitious.
Trying to use words to hook you in and invite you to that vastness which is beyond any expression.
It is truly an impossible task.
And still,
You are now here,
800 years later,
Listening to those words,
Listening to that invitation.
Ask yourself,
Does this resonate as truth to me?
Does it awaken an inner knowing in me of truth?
Yes,
Yes.
Aho,
Niranjana.
I am bigger than anything I can experience.
There is no need to be intimidated by life.
I am bigger than any experience that I may be invited to experience.
I am consciousness,
Pure consciousness,
That is,
Or at least can be,
All-allowing,
All-embracing.
I can go beyond my tendency to try to divide life into two groups.
Life into two groups,
Into duality,
I want and I don't want,
I need and I don't need,
Good and bad.
Everything is included.
And when I think about the years I've spent trying to fight against what I think is bad,
Rejecting what I think is undesirable,
I remind myself there is nothing there that I have to carry as weight because of these past impressions.
I only need to wake up to the true nature of myself,
And this darkness will disappear as a natural outcome.
There's no need to fight darkness.
No need to conquer it.
Trying to find darkness is a sure loss.
Effortlessly just ignite the light within you.
Darkness will go away.
It has no choice.
It's a non-entity.
What do you say?
Enough words,
Huh,
Today?
Contemplate on that.
Why does the,
Or our soul,
Return again and again?
Any question that starts with the question why is a question that is based on arguing with reality.
Why is it like that?
Why isn't it like differently?
I think if it would be different,
It would be better.
Actually,
I think I know the better way.
If it only was different,
Then life would be much easier,
Much more reasonable,
Sensible,
Much more comfortable.
But I think it's a question that is based on arguing with reality.
I think if it only was different,
Then life would be much easier,
Much more reasonable,
Sensible.
I would be happier.
You know,
Every time you ask a question that starts with why,
Look for the gap that there is there.
Or is this just because you're curious?
Curiosity can only take you until a certain point.
Yeah,
But don't take it too seriously.
Your curiosity,
Don't take it too seriously.
Eventually you would realize that life is much more mysterious than you would ever be able to grasp.
Not to mention previous lives.
So your curiosity takes you to the point where you don't feel the need to understand everything.
The curiosity keeps you on your toes,
Which is great.
You know,
People usually are so dormant,
Especially in North America.
They're just too comfortable and they get.
.
.
Complacent?
I wanted to say fat.
Complacent,
Maybe it's better.
You just get heavy,
You know,
With the burden of life.
Uninterested.
The only thing that drives you forward is your need for comfort.
And establishing a bigger and bigger comfort zone where you feel in control and protected.
So curiosity keeps you on your toes.
Yeah,
It's great.
But remember that curiosity can only take you so far.
Eventually,
As you grow,
It will have to transform into surrender.
Curiosity transforms into surrender.
In surrender,
There is no question anymore.
There is just bliss.
Saranam.
Saranam is that eternal bliss,
Existential bliss.
That doesn't require any answers or explanations.
No,
There is just me,
Content,
Blissful.
You just unknowingly answered her question.
What question?
Why does the soul return again and again?
Okay,
I'm happy that the answer was there.
What was the next question?
What about learning as means to evolve consciousness?
Yeah,
Yeah,
This is what we do,
We learn.
Remember that learning has a great value,
A great value.
Especially when you come to learn about the nature of your own self.
But realize that learning is not about,
At least essentially,
Is not about adding knowledge that was not there.
See if you can skillfully learn while remaining empty.
This is the difference between understanding and insight.
Understanding just accumulates more knowledge.
Insight empties you.
It's based on direct experience.
Reconnecting to knowledge that is there already in you.
It's not something that you accumulated from outside and kept on a shelf somewhere inside you.
And there is more and more shelves,
More and more knowledge.
All the knowledge in the world is already there in you.
It's a matter of the wave remembering the ocean.
Instead of the wave trying to accumulate all that knowledge on its own,
For its own.
You see the difference?
Knowledge is there.
When the small mind merges into the big mind,
Access to knowledge is there.
Any knowledge,
Everything you ever wanted to know is there.
But then you don't want to know anything anymore.
So it's futile anyway.
What else?
Anything else?
Like experiencing without judging,
They say.
Yeah.
Experiencing without judging.
Joe says,
As a nonstop asker of why,
Why me,
Why like this and not this,
This helps curiosity transform to surrender and surrender.
That doesn't require any answers or any explanations.
I have continuously burdened myself with why.
Don't.
It's a beautiful realization.
Why is based on you arguing with life?
If it only was different,
Why is it like that?
Embrace life as it is.
Don't burden yourself with conflicting ideas about life.
It's maybe the difference between a child asking why,
Out of curiosity and innocence.
Yeah,
You know,
They say that the role of the spiritual teacher is to take your very troubled why,
Why,
Why is it like that?
And transform it into wonder.
Wow.
Oh,
So it's like that.
You know,
Instead of why,
Why is it like that?
Oh,
Wow.
It's like that.
You know,
And when you are in this wow,
There is no botheration anymore that troubles you.
You are just amazed by how life is so beautiful and mysterious.
So beautiful and mysterious.
Andrew is asking if all knowledge is there,
How do we access it?
Yeah,
So on this path,
What we do is coming closer and closer to the essence of our own self.
Getting rid of everything that is masking our clear vision.
And the more masks we shed,
The more clear the vision is.
And once we are completely transparent and there are no masks anymore,
Knowledge will be available to you.
Don't worry about it.
Just remember,
When it is available completely,
There is no I that has that burning need to know.
So it's futile anyway.
You just enjoy the ride.
And let go of the idea that you will ever know everything.
There will be no you that knows at that point.
Yes.
You just embrace life.
Enjoy it.
What are your thoughts then in terms of livelihood and vocation?
In English?
Your career.
Well,
It's not your career,
But yeah.
My career?
Your job,
The way you make money,
The way you.
.
.
What about it?
Well,
When we're rolling down this road and uncovering these things,
The essence of the nature of.
.
.
How did you say it?
The nature of the experiencer?
Yeah.
I guess in the same way that you're saying,
Don't worry about knowledge because it'll be there whenever you would need it.
Same thing for money is what you're kind of saying,
Or what the teaching is saying.
Because the reality is like I get.
.
.
I'm not even going to say I get it.
I hear what's being spoken and I still need to live in my apartment and pay my bills and stuff,
Right?
Yeah.
And so if I'm doing certain things in a job that I'm not quite getting.
.
.
I'm not quite catching the question of it,
But essentially I need money,
Right?
Yeah,
You know,
People have this idea that material life contradicts spiritual life.
How can you be spiritual and live in the material world?
I mean,
This seems to be contradicting.
Again,
Come back to Tilopa,
Realizing this duality doesn't exist in reality.
Material life is spiritual life.
Spiritual life is material life.
They don't live separately,
Not in the true essence of things.
This separation is done by our own intellect,
Trying to figure it out.
We have spiritual concepts and ideas,
We try to apply them on our material world,
And sometimes this material life contradicts our ideas or the opposite.
We have material ideas,
We try to apply them on the spiritual world and they clash.
But remember,
These are just ideas,
Concepts,
Preconceptions,
Values,
Artificial personality,
Identifications that are clashing with reality,
Which is never split into two,
Not in the real essence of things.
God is not separated from material life,
Everyday mundane life.
And mundane life is not separated from God.
They coexist,
They actually express each other.
Our challenge as modern people living in the Western world is to find spirituality within the mundane,
Grow beyond that idea that these are two separated realms of existence.
Yes,
You need money to live in your apartment,
You need to pay rent,
So go do your work.
What's the problem?
Why do you think that this contradicts me being spiritual?
You know,
It's only ideas and concepts that we have about what should happen,
What better happen,
A better version of reality,
More similar to the concept and ideas that we have about what is preferable.
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No,
No and be more similar to an idea that I have about it then I can be experiencing God.
No,
No,
No,
No.
The opposite.
God is waiting for you to embrace,
To be all inclusive.
Like Tilo Posses,
Stop trying to separate life into duality.
This is a false practice.
Awakening happens when you embrace surrender,
Submit yourself to experience your reality as it is.
Otherwise you commit to samsara.
It will be a never-ending circle of suffering.
Is this what you meant,
Erich?
I guess for myself I try to align myself with a certain vision,
I guess,
Which could conceivably be perceived as separation,
But because I work for myself,
So I'm not working for somebody else,
So I'm creating certain content in the world that I'm not working for myself.
Because I work for myself,
So I'm not working for somebody else,
So I'm creating certain content in the world around understandings or teachings that I have related to life as an Indigenous person.
So I'm going in the world and doing talks and work in the area of reconciliation.
And so that can cover a number of things,
But specifically in a cultural group with Native people,
Right?
Reconciliation in terms of economic reconciliation or educational disparities or medical things or things related to social services or justice or things like that.
So that's still sort of going in the direction of having a cultural identity,
Though.
You know what I mean?
What's the problem?
Where is the problem?
I guess for myself I'm reconciling what's being spoken in the understanding,
Supreme understanding,
And the slicing hairs of cultural identity as opposed to being nothing and everything.
So you think you limit yourself to a narrower aspect of existence because you identify with your culture,
With your heritage?
Well,
I guess that's my curiosity.
Yeah.
You know,
It's not a problem.
If you are currently devoted to that type of work,
Which is beautiful and recommendable.
.
.
Commendable.
And commendable,
Yeah.
Can you commend and re-comment?
Twice?
Then,
You know,
Just be happy with it.
Don't allow a split consciousness to tear you apart from that work.
You are engaged in a specific project,
You know,
Passionate about spreading that type of reconciliation,
That type of bonding people together,
Growing beyond,
You know,
Their frustration and past aggression and all that.
Spreading love.
Wow,
Fantastic.
Doesn't matter if you work in the stock market and only think about how to gain more money.
It doesn't matter,
I tell you.
Doesn't matter what you choose to do.
What does matter is that you do it full-heartedly,
Without a split consciousness about it.
This is what's most important.
People think that the point is what they choose to do.
I tell you,
It's not important.
What's important is how you do what you choose to do.
Do you do it full-heartedly?
Do you do it with grace?
Or do you do it with a willing soul?
Put your 100% in it and let go of the idea that a specific result should happen as a cause of your actions.
And if it doesn't happen,
Then you failed.
No,
That's not the definition of success at all.
Success is not what happened because of your actions.
Success is how much of yourself were you able to commit to do what you chose to do.
If the answer was 100%,
That's it,
You are successful.
God cannot be experienced when you are not fully present,
When your consciousness is split.
God can only be experienced when you are there,
Committed,
Devoted,
Surrendered.
When everything in you is present and available,
Then God is available.
And it doesn't matter what you choose to do.
And it doesn't matter what you choose to do.
So don't put ideas between you and your actions and the consequences of your actions.
Don't worry about this.
Just be present at what you do.
That's the key.
Any last question?
No questions.
Joe had a comment.
What's the comment?
When I suffered,
I witnessed my parents calm like they knew Tilopa.
I was asking myself why.
I maybe can a little bit understand the why without asking them this.
Thank you.
Maybe your parents are reincarnation of Tilopa.
And Carlotta said thank you,
I needed to hear that.
You're welcome.
So we have a lot to contemplate about for this coming week.
Are we in the mood for singing?
HP.
P?
What about the virtual crowd?
Are you in the mood for singing?
Just so we can go beyond the realm of words and concepts.
I get one yes.
I'm waiting for two more.
Another one.
And yes,
We're doing it.
Okay,
So remember,
It's not about understanding the words,
But embracing the frequency.
So it's like meditation,
But this time with sound.
So before we hit play,
I would like to thank you everyone for your presence here,
For being with us today,
Growing together on the path.
I would like to thank you for your donations.
They are very helpful.
And I would look forward to meeting you again next week,
Same time,
To continue on this path of Mahamudra.
Jai Gurudev.
Let's close our eyes and take a deep breath in.
Om Namo Anjaneyam Namo Namo Namo Anjaneyam Namo Namo Namo Anjaneyam Anjaneyam Anjaneyam Anjaneyam Anjaneyam Anjaneyam Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai Sri Anandaji Jai God Good night,
Sleep well,
Love you very much
