Tantra the Supreme Understanding Session (4)

Join us for a series of talks, focusing on the greatest position- Tantra. Commentary on the book by Shree Rajneesh written in 1975. Don't miss it! (The recordings of the first meetings are available on my Insightimer page). Please listen and join us for this 4th session.

Transcript

Okay,

So hello everyone to this unique opportunity.

We are going to start our session with a short ceremony just to make sure we're all aligned and ready to go.

So let's sit comfortably on our seat.

Let's take a deep breath in and let go.

Now let's close our eyes and take another deep breath in.

And let go.

And the next breath in we keep in,

We don't breathe out.

And slowly breathe out and let go.

Let go of all your efforts.

Let go of everything that already happened in the past.

Let go of everything that may happen in the future.

And allow your breath to guide you back to the present moment,

To whatever is happening right now.

Become aware of your surroundings,

All the noises and voices that you hear.

Become aware of the presence of your own body in that space.

Become aware of the posture of your body upon its seat.

Lay the entire weight of your body into that posture.

You may scan your body internally from the tip of your toes to the top of your head.

Make sure there is no tension hiding anywhere in your body.

And if you found an area that is contracted or tensed,

Allow your breath to fill that area with oxygen,

With life.

And as you breathe out,

Allow that tension to flow out of your body together with your breath.

Comfortable and relaxed.

Another deep breath in and let go.

Let go more and more.

Become aware of the stream of thoughts crossing your mind.

What are you thinking of right now?

Without getting too entangled with any specific thought,

Just observe as the thought arrives,

Stay and fly away.

If you found that you've been carried away by a specific thought to a different time,

A different reality,

Never mind.

Next breath in and just observe back.

Whatever is happening right now,

Observe that tendency of thoughts to steal your attention.

Become fully aware of every phenomena that currently happens.

Sensations in your body,

Emotions,

Thoughts,

Whatever is in front of you right now.

Become completely aware.

And as the stream of phenomena continues,

Allow your attention to turn away and face itself.

The origin of awareness.

That space within that exists before and beyond any phenomena.

Where there is no movement,

There is only silence.

And for a moment become that silence.

Another deep breath in.

Gently allow your attention to come back to your body that is seated here upon its seat.

A part of our circle.

Let us unite our individual intentions into one unified intention.

The intention to grow,

To develop,

To evolve.

With a smile let's take another deep breath in.

And when you feel comfortable you may open your eyes.

So,

Welcome again to this occasion where we stop the rush for a moment and hold hands and allow ourselves to ponder about life's mysteries together and support each other's growth on the path.

Growing not just as individuals but also as a united consciousness.

This is what we are here for.

And this meeting is number four in the series of talks that we are engaged in under the title Tantra the Supreme Understanding.

So,

Just a brief review of what we have done so far.

We are joining a conversation between a master and his disciple.

And,

Carly are you texting the lines?

Yes.

And this conversation happened about 800 years ago.

Before I forget,

This is extremely important for me to emphasize.

This is not a lecture.

I didn't come prepared with slides.

This is conversation.

And the more engaged you are,

The more curious you are,

The more fruitful it will be for you and for everyone else.

So,

Please feel free to join at any point with any question about past sessions or about what is going to happen this one.

So,

Just briefly,

The master is called Tilopa.

Finally,

After years of searching,

Met his disciple called Niropa.

And they converse in a form of poem.

Because in the first sentence that the master is saying to his disciple,

Trying to express or explain or somehow describe that state of consciousness that he is experiencing,

The first line is saying that,

I'm sorry,

But what I have to express cannot be expressed.

What I have to describe cannot be described.

What you are trying to achieve cannot be achieved.

So,

This is futile.

Don't worry about trying to understand what I'm saying because it's beyond all word and symbol.

So,

That's the first step in this journey.

The journey of Tantra.

Letting go of the idea that we are here to achieve something,

To get the point.

We are here to realize some sort of understanding that we can hold and use to our benefit.

This is what Tilopa starts the journey with.

And then,

The second chapter was about how the problem,

The root problem of our journey has always been the mind.

Where we identify with objects in the mind.

The third chapter was about identifying between light and darkness.

Where Tilopa is saying that darkness is all the things that we object and oppose.

And darkness is a non-entity.

And it cannot be conquered.

You cannot fight darkness and win over it.

And Tilopa is reminding us that actually there is no reason to.

Because darkness is not a thing.

It's just the absence of light.

So,

The process of growing is always adding more light instead of trying to fight the darkness.

And the tantric consciousness basically is all-prevailing.

Everything is included in it.

The things that you agree with and the things that you oppose.

Everything is included in a tantric mind.

So,

Stop your futile attempts to become a better person by shutting off parts of yourself which you consider immoral or unjust or not developed enough or whatever criteria you have in your mind about the world and about yourself.

That is,

In a nutshell,

What we've discussed so far.

All of this are recorded and the two first sessions are also available for you to listen to inside timer on my page.

So,

If you haven't done so,

I definitely recommend you find the time and listen to the recordings.

Hopefully,

The third session that took place last week will also be available in the coming days.

Are there any questions about what we've been discussing so far before we go further to the fourth session today?

Are we good online?

Okay.

So,

The song continues.

The fourth session of the Mahamudra.

Be like a hollow bamboo.

Do not with the body but relax.

Shut firm the mouth and silent remain.

Empty your mind and think of not.

Like a hollow bamboo,

Rest at ease with your body.

Giving not,

Nor taking.

Put your mind at rest.

Mahamudra is like a mind that clings to not.

Thus,

Practicing in time,

You will reach Buddhahood.

Remember,

With Tilopa it's not just the content of the words,

It's also the energy that they carry.

So,

Let these words resonate within you.

Awakened dormant knowledge.

Awakening dormant knowledge.

So,

What is going on in this chapter?

Let's try to unfold it gently.

First of all,

It's a sort of a guidebook.

How do you say?

A practical guide for the sincere seeker.

There is finally something that is suggested,

That we can actually do or avoid to do.

Something that we can take home and start working with,

More materialized.

It talks about the body.

The body belongs to the physical realm.

So,

It's beautiful that we can finally come to that point where there is something for us to actually get physically involved with.

Right?

What?

So,

We have to differentiate,

Before we begin,

Between two types of doing.

The first type is what we call activity,

And the other type is what we call action.

What's the difference between action and activity?

Activity,

Let's start with that,

Is what we are doing because there is feverishness within us.

Activity is a manifestation of lack of peace,

Internal peace.

We are bothered,

We are agitated,

We are tensed,

We are.

.

.

What?

Help me out.

Fearful.

We are.

.

.

Distracted.

Distracted.

We are.

.

.

Uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable.

Judgmental.

We are frustrated.

We are angry.

We are.

.

.

Online suggestions?

Let me know you're there.

Anxious.

Anxious.

Wanting something else.

Wanting something else.

We are a bubble of tension.

Avoidance.

So we translate that into activity,

As a form of ventilating that.

We have to do something.

We cannot just sit and rest.

We have to be active.

We have to somehow ventilate that.

Or maybe try to use action in order to manipulate reality so it will be more comfortable.

It can manifest in many different ways.

For example,

We smoke.

We have to have that.

Something in our mouth.

Or we chew gum.

Or we eat.

Mouth is a very strong entrance or exit for that.

Transaction between tension and life.

Or we talk.

We gossip.

We interact with people through words and just bombard them with our opinions.

Tension.

It's a way for us to ventilate that tension.

Translate into words and thoughts and ideas and just puke it out.

Or you know that when people sit cross-legged then one leg is going.

.

.

That's a classic symptom of activity.

So much tension is built into the system that the body needs some sort of physical movement in order to release that.

And you know this happens that we cannot avoid it when we are tensed.

It's inevitable that we release it through action,

Through activity,

When we are full of tension.

Even if you think about people who go to retreats or monks up there in the monastery in the Himalayas.

They are also,

Instead of just being,

They are busy doing.

Doing what?

Sweeping the floor?

Cleaning the temple?

Sitting for meditation?

Doing yoga?

They are always in action.

There has to be something that they are involved in otherwise they feel that restlessness again.

A restless mind cannot allow a restful body.

It has to express itself through activity.

So this is one type of action or doing.

The other type is what we call action which differentiates between activity because it's not an expression of inner tension or stress.

It's a natural reaction to the present moment that requires doing.

It not always requires doing,

But it does sometimes.

And when it does,

Action is performed.

But there is no agenda behind it.

There is no need or want behind it.

There is no stress being expressed through it.

It's just a natural reaction to whatever is required.

There are dishes in the sink,

So there is dishwashing happening through my hands.

There is a beautiful story about a woman called Susan Segal.

I probably told you about her on one occasion or another.

She was an American teacher.

She died of cancer many years ago.

But she wrote a book about her experience of enlightenment saying that when she experienced enlightenment,

It was actually a real type of enlightenment which was spontaneous.

Spontaneous enlightenment.

She called that experience collision with infinity.

It was like a car crash.

Boom!

And the eye was gone and never returned.

And because it was so sudden and surprising,

She was full of fear.

Her habits,

Her personality was still there.

It was not fully integrated because it was so sudden.

And her old self was very worried about this new condition and specifically about the fact that she was pregnant at the time.

And she was about to give birth.

Who is going to be the mother of this child if there is no eye there?

So,

What's happening with the newborn?

And she describes it beautifully by stating that motherhood happened without a mother that would be responsible for it,

Take credit for or blame.

It was just natural flowing through her,

Through her hands,

Through her heart.

And the baby,

Of course,

Received everything it needed.

But without a mother saying,

This is my work,

My job,

My responsibility,

My mistake.

That identity did not exist.

There was just a natural harmonious flow of doing,

Which was required.

This is action,

As opposed to activity.

What do you say?

The difference is clear?

Questions online?

I'm going to repeat the question.

It's like the automatic response to the restlessness inside.

There's an activity that happens to just settle or deal with,

Whereas the action part of it is more conscious.

It's like there's a response to something that needs to happen at this moment.

So,

I will take action towards completing whatever it is that's in front of me at this time.

And maybe that's motherhood,

Maybe that's the dishes,

Maybe it's watering plants,

Keeping them alive,

Whatever is asked.

But the activity part sounds like it's an avoidance to discomfort and the restlessness of the mind that you were saying.

But it sounds like it's unconscious.

It's just like you do things to fill the void.

She's differentiating between activity and action by how aware we are to it.

So,

If it's an activity,

She says that maybe it's less conscious.

And while we are busy in action,

It's more conscious.

Yeah,

It's one way to look at it,

Even though the difference in consciousness,

I would say,

Would be about the doer of it.

Consciousness is busy with action when it realizes that there is no doer there.

I can be very conscious about me smoking and trying to use the cigarette to reduce the stress.

I can be very conscious about it.

I do it deliberately,

Or drink,

Or eat vanilla ice cream.

Because I know that when I do that,

I feel comforted.

I can be very conscious about it,

But it's me trying to kill a fire,

Put out a fire in me,

A fire of feverishness.

Any online questions?

Angie said,

I love to sit and do nothing,

Be mindless,

But like you say,

Pots need washing.

Okay,

It's important to understand,

Even before we even start the sutras of this chapter,

Action is there.

The fact that you are blissfully available to react to a need and act accordingly,

Where there is no personal agenda,

Doesn't mean that you sit like a statue of Buddha,

Observing life and not engaged in it anymore.

No,

No,

No.

This is another idea that you have in your mind about what Buddhahood may look like.

Buddha was a person,

He was very involved in life.

He was traveling intensely from village to village,

Interacting with people,

Teaching.

He was a very busy individual.

He was not sitting under a tree.

He did,

But for,

I don't know,

How many days was it?

Depending on who you ask,

Maybe two weeks.

That's it,

Under the buddhi tree,

That's it.

And then he rose out of that position and started teaching.

So don't have in your mind the idea that if you are now required to wash the dishes,

Then that's anti-religious,

Anti-spiritual,

Or whatever.

Anti-life.

And until the dishes are washed,

You cannot be enlightened anymore.

No,

That's not the case at all.

You can definitely be involved in action.

Actually,

More than that,

Action can flow through you.

And you are very busy,

Very active,

Still,

Stress-free,

Agenda-free.

That's the difference.

So if your present moment requires you to sit down passively and just observe,

Then this is what you do.

If reality requires you to be very active and engaged,

Then this is what you do.

This is doing without a doer.

This is what we call action.

Okay,

So now we know the difference between activity and action.

Mindful pot washing.

And Jesus.

Yeah.

Osho is describing the mantra of Tilopa as becoming like a hollow bamboo.

This is his trademark.

When people think about Tilopa,

This is what they think.

Be like a hollow bamboo.

Of course,

We will discuss this further in this chapter.

If you want,

My mantra is finding divinity in the soap bubbles of the dishes that you currently wash.

Finding divinity in the mundane.

Instead of trying to go to the Himalayas or to a retreat somewhere hoping that God will touch you there.

I'm telling you,

No,

No.

God is waiting for you in the kitchen.

You go there and start washing the dishes.

You like that?

I like that a lot,

Yeah.

Okay,

So let's start with the Sutras.

Now that we understand the difference.

Do not with the body,

But relax.

So the first thing that Tilopa is instructing us is stop being busy with the doing.

With the activity.

You know,

It's not about you trying to do something in order to achieve a goal.

Again,

This is something very deep to realize.

Nothing that you do can bring you closer to a tantric consciousness.

Nothing that you do,

Nothing that your body is involved in,

Doesn't matter if it's a yoga retreat in the most sacred and holy temple in the world.

Or just,

You know,

Whatever.

You think you can actually do with your body.

Your doing is worthless.

The only thing that you need to do is not.

Do not with your body.

Instead of trying to do something.

I don't know what about you.

When I heard that for the first time,

It felt like a slap in the face.

For me,

Realizing that what I cherish the most is completely unreachable,

And it's got nothing to do with what I do or don't do.

It was like,

What?

So what do you mean?

I mean,

I cannot do anything about it?

Especially as Westerners,

We are trained,

We are educated.

Our whole tradition,

Our whole culture is about achieving,

Right?

You do this in order to achieve that,

And then you can achieve that,

And then your career,

And your life,

And whatever.

This is how we are trained from day one.

It's up to you.

The American Dream is all about you realizing your dreams,

Right?

Because the opportunity is there,

And you go and get it.

By doing.

And Tilo Pahir comes and says,

No,

No,

No.

Nothing that you will do,

Nothing that you will do,

Is going to help you.

And think about the context,

You know?

Buddhism was there,

Hinduism was there,

Judaism was there,

Christianity was there,

Islam was there,

And all those great religions,

Jainism was there,

Was teaching different types of doing,

So you can come closer to salvation.

Right?

You need to pray X times a day,

You need to offer offerings,

You need to whatever.

All of those rules and conditions that are set up for you,

And Tilo Pahir comes and says,

No,

No,

No.

Nothing of that.

This is worthless.

This is a huge shock to spirituality.

It's a revolution.

Even Buddha laid eight different paths for the seekers of Buddhism that they should follow.

According to your personality,

You choose the right path for you.

Like there is the path of the warrior,

The path of the worshiper,

There were eight paths.

You go on those paths and you act accordingly.

And here Tilo Pahir comes and says,

No,

No,

Forget about it.

This is not going to help you.

You are not going to get closer to your goal,

Attaining tantric consciousness.

What you need to do is not,

Which is extremely frustrating.

It was for me when I heard it.

I don't know what you feel about it.

So there is this amazing,

Fantastic state of consciousness which is unachievable.

So what's the point?

Why bother?

Why are we here?

And whatever you think you can do in order to come closer is futile.

Okay,

Very good.

So do not with the body,

But relax.

And look,

Relax is such a meaningful word.

What does it mean,

Relax?

There is no tension in relaxation.

You cannot relax if you are tensed.

In order to relax,

You need to be relieved of tension.

So again,

You see the quality of work is not adding attributes,

But shedding whatever is between you and that state of consciousness.

Shedding contradicting ideas that create stress for you.

Shedding bad habits.

Shedding false identifications.

Shedding,

Shedding,

Shedding,

Shedding,

More and more shedding.

Until you are available to relax.

And this is so challenging,

That invitation.

Because what the invitation essentially is,

You relax because you realize that you cannot achieve it.

But you choose to remain on the path,

Even though you know that you cannot achieve it.

Then you can truly relax.

Right?

Okay,

What's the point of trying to be stressful about it if I know that I cannot attain it?

So I can just relax and be here,

Stress-free,

Without any goal in mind,

Without any target,

Nothing to achieve.

I can just be here,

Surrender to the fact that I chose this path,

This teacher,

And I let him guide me.

Whatever.

Anywhere.

There is nowhere to go.

Nothing to do.

So,

Yeah.

I'm here.

Available.

Surrendered.

This is such a unique quality.

There are so few people that can allow themselves that type of surrender.

What is that?

So just be chilled in everything we do?

And you asked,

So what should we be doing?

So just be chilled in everything we do?

That's a start.

Be chilled about it.

What does it mean?

We spoke about it.

The source of frustration,

The source of suffering,

The source of anger,

The source of violence,

Is a split consciousness.

Where you wash the dishes,

But you believe that somebody else should have washed the dishes.

Not you.

So you're not fully there.

Your consciousness is split into two.

You do that,

But you believe that somebody else should have done it.

Or you do that,

But you believe that this should be over because there is something more important for you to do later.

Or just chilling in front of the TV is much better than washing the dishes.

So let's just get this over with.

This is a split consciousness.

And this is the source of stress.

You cannot relax when you're stressed.

Sotilopa says,

No,

No,

No.

Do not with your body,

Don't try to achieve anything through action,

Through activity.

Do not.

Just relax.

Nothing that can generate stress for you,

You're not engaged in that anymore.

You don't go to that drama.

You choose consciously not to go there,

Not to fight with life,

Not to argue,

Not to manipulate life anymore.

Just relax.

Truly relax.

What else?

Barbara says,

So he slaps us in the face and now he has our attention.

Exactly.

That's exactly how I felt.

A terrible slap in the face that eventually helped me to relax because I realized this is unattainable.

So I just choose to be here,

Whatever.

And Barbara said,

Do we relax because we are already there?

We cannot be closer to God.

He is already here.

Yeah,

Yeah.

This is something that we cannot philosophize about.

This is something we need to directly experience.

Saying God is already here is one thing.

Recognizing God,

Becoming God,

This is a different story altogether.

It's a good concept to hold and maybe direct your life towards that,

But realizing God is here,

God is me,

Is a different story.

And this cannot be achieved through action and definitely not when you are not relaxed.

You are too busy trying to avoid,

Trying to get there already.

Tantric consciousness cannot be reached.

It's not a trophy at the end of your efforts.

Just relax.

And then he continues,

Shut firm the mouth and silent remain.

This is so beautiful,

You know,

When we do silent retreats,

This is what we focus on.

Our mouth is a generator of noise,

Noise,

Noise,

Ideas,

Concepts,

That are verbalized more and more and more.

Our mouth can only keep us on that realm of ideas and concepts.

If you really want to transcend that and touch God and let yourself be touched by God,

You have to shut your mouth.

Be silent.

They say silence is what you are.

Being silent is the tool that gets you there.

What is silence?

It's exactly what we experienced in the beginning of this session.

Silence is the background of all the noise,

All the things that happen,

All the things that started and will finish,

And will end.

The realm of phenomena is happening.

Silence is the background of that realm.

And being silent takes you there.

Do that.

Do that.

If you don't have time to take a weekend off in a silent retreat somewhere,

Do that every day for 20 minutes.

With this intention.

What is the intention?

The noise is there.

I hear the noise.

Outside noise,

Internal noise.

There is always noise.

Emotions,

Sensations,

Thoughts,

Noise,

Noise,

Noise.

Ideas about the past,

About the future.

Noise,

Noise,

Noise.

Sit there for 20 minutes.

As you observe that noise,

Allow that noise,

Without identifying,

You will see that the noise is slowly how do you say it in English?

Settling down.

Settling down,

Settling down.

As you observe without identifying,

What amplifies the noise is your identification,

Your focus on it.

This gives it energy.

So that thought creates another thought,

And another thought,

And you're gone.

But if you can just observe it without identifying with it,

You'll see it slowly loses its energy.

And as it mellows down,

Suddenly something appears.

You know?

That is usually just covered by white noise.

You can see a signal.

In electronics we call it a signal.

There is a signal there that you finally are attuned to.

Your true essence.

Silence.

You can call it that.

Practice that.

20 minutes every day.

Just observe the noise,

And don't identify,

And slowly silence will be there,

Available for you to experience.

As your true nature.

Not just as absence of noise.

So become silent.

Allow the silence to introduce itself from within.

Do that.

This is something you can actually do.

Hallelujah!

In the realm of Tilopa this is revolutionary.

Practice silent observation.

Empty your mind and think of not.

This is so beautiful.

Sitting there observing.

See if you can think about nothing.

What is that?

Thought is always relating itself to an object.

You think about a scenario.

You think about a scenario that happened.

You think about a scenario that may happen.

You think about an object,

And you judge that object.

It's good,

It's bad,

It's beneficial,

It's harmful.

You have an opinion about it.

There is always an object of thought.

And Tilopa is saying,

See if you can think about not.

Not an object.

When you lay down on the grass and you look at the sky,

The first thing that your eyes are caught on are the clouds,

Right?

Or the stars.

Something.

Something that you can hold on to and start having a relationship with.

Wow,

This is a beautiful cloud.

It looks like a rabbit.

Oh,

These are the Cassiopeia.

Or this is the North Star,

Or whatever.

You can relate to something.

Tilopa is trying to shift your attention from the something to the nothing.

See if you can shift your attention from the clouds to the background.

To the blue.

And not even calling it blue.

Just think of not.

That's a huge challenge for an intellectual mind.

The training here is to attune yourself to the realm of non-object.

The realm of non-object.

Where you are wide enough to include all objects but not identify with any of them.

Like the skies are wide enough to host all the clouds.

The big and the small.

Think of not.

You'll see it's extremely challenging.

Sit for 20 minutes every day.

See if you can do that.

I tell you,

In the first trials,

You are going to be failing miserably.

Guaranteed.

Because after 10 seconds your thoughts will go to something.

They cling on something.

They have to.

The trick is not to try to tame your thoughts.

And don't be delusioned too quickly.

Disillusioned too quickly.

Allow yourself some space to grow into that type of consciousness.

It takes practice.

As you see,

The thought is escaping.

Observe that tendency without judging it or yourself for it.

First of all,

It's good to know this is not your fault.

This is not your nature to escape or to run away or to avoid.

It's not about you at all.

So don't be too harsh about yourself.

This is the nature of thoughts.

The nature of attention is to go away.

So you'd sit with this intention,

I'm going to think about not.

And one,

Two,

Three,

You'll think about something.

Guaranteed.

You know,

This is why in the East they developed this technique called Mantra.

Now,

What is Mantra?

Mantra is that it's like,

You know,

The flute of the shepherd that is calling the sheep.

The sheep are all over the place.

And when they hear that flute,

They gather because they know that they're going to get some food.

So Mantra is like that flute.

So,

Tilopa is very harsh.

That's why he only had one disciple all his life.

No Mantra,

Nothing.

You just sit there and think about not.

I'm telling you,

This is the path of the brave.

But still,

Never mind.

You sit there and see if you can practice that.

Every time your mind goes to somewhere,

Bring it back to nowhere.

Every time your mind goes to something,

Bring it back to nothing.

Again and again and again and again.

20 minutes every day.

What do you say?

Do you think you can do it?

The answer is no.

You cannot do it.

So don't try to do it.

Just sit.

Think of not.

And then his sentence,

Which we love so much.

Like a hollow bamboo,

Rest at ease with your body.

This is his trademark.

Like a hollow bamboo.

Think about the bamboo for a minute.

It's an amazing plant.

It's grass,

But it's the fastest growing vegetable,

Vegetation in the world.

And most of it is nothing.

It's empty.

There's nothing there.

It's just a shell.

The shell creates the strength.

And it becomes very strong,

Very useful.

It's useful for so many purposes in the East.

I remember once I was traveling in Northern Thailand,

And we went on a bush walk with some local guides for a couple of days,

Or three days.

And I remember they only brought with them a sack of rice and some vegetables.

That's it.

And I was thinking,

How are they going to survive in the bush with nothing?

Just some rice and vegetables.

And I was amazed to see how they used their knives with the bamboo.

Everything was there.

From dishes to cutlery,

And cups to drink,

And boiling the soup.

And then in the morning,

Creating a raft,

Going on the river.

Everything was made out of bamboo.

Just like that.

And when they're done,

They throw it away.

Of course,

It's biodegradable.

Amazing.

So useful.

And then,

Still empty.

There is nothing there.

It's empty.

You look inside,

There is nothing.

It's just hollow.

There is no substance to it at all.

It's just a shell.

This is his metaphor.

Be like hollow bamboo.

The shell.

Don't be too attached to your shell.

Your body,

Your personality.

It's just a shell.

An outer shell.

An expression of emptiness.

It doesn't make you weak or worthless at all.

It's very strong.

And extremely useful.

But still empty.

You be like that bamboo.

Don't get too attached to the substance of things.

Remember that this outer shell is just a facade.

A temporary facade.

The inner truth of yourself is empty.

And what else is made out of bamboo?

The flute.

Right?

And in order for the flute to work properly,

It has to be hollow and clean.

Otherwise,

It will sing out of tune.

Play out of tune.

Same as bamboo.

If you really want to be a useful tool for God to play through you,

Make sure you keep your inner space clean and hollow.

I've developed a meditation called The Hollow Breath,

Which can help you clean yourself from the inside to become that type of flute.

Use that.

You can find it on my Insight Timer page.

Just use that.

Seven chakras one by one are cleaned.

So that inner pathway of energy is without any clogs.

Then Kundalini can arise in you.

Like a hollow bamboo.

Rest at ease with your body.

There is no tension.

There is no stress.

There is no goal.

There is no hope.

Nothing to cling to.

Rest at ease with your body.

You know,

When we are too identified with our body,

We try to change our body in order to be happy,

In order to feel accomplished.

You know,

People are so obsessed about how they look.

The relationship with our body is so delicate.

I strongly recommend you listen to that talk,

Me and My Body.

You can find that also on my Insight Timer page.

All about the relationship that we have with our own bodies.

But just one thing to remember from all that discussion is remember that your body is just an outer shell.

And it's here to die.

To be engaged in life.

To allow life to rub it.

And that rubbing sometimes is very pleasurable and sometimes it's very painful.

But this is what the body is here to do.

To be rubbed by life.

And then to die.

It's inevitable.

In that window of time,

You have a vessel that takes you through life.

Cherish that vessel.

Honor it.

Respect it.

Like you do with a temple.

But don't get too identified with it.

Don't put your happiness on your body.

Because then you doom yourself to life of misery and death.

You're going to die.

Your hopes will be shattered for sure.

100%.

There is no other way around it.

When you identify with your body.

So what to do?

Remember,

This is just an outer shell.

You are like a bamboo.

Do we need a break?

Do we need a break?

Yeah?

So let's take a 5 minute break and reassemble to continue the song.

Meanwhile,

Guys,

Online,

If you are not busy with the washroom,

You can type in your questions and your comments.

Ah,

Carly,

Can you bring the Bluetooth speaker?

Where is it?

There.

Next to the door.

On the floor.

Good,

Good,

Good.

So,

I hope you are all relaxed and empty.

We can continue.

So the song continues.

Giving not giving not giving not giving not giving not giving not giving not giving not nor taking.

Put your mind at rest.

This is beautiful.

That transaction between you and life has to stop.

According to Tilopa,

Tantric consciousness cannot be achieved when you are busy with this transaction.

I give,

I take.

I give,

I take.

It's not a moral path.

Tantra is not about being moral.

You know,

You are trained to give to the poor,

Attain the sick.

You know,

For example,

Christianity also is very oriented towards that.

Judaism,

You know,

You have to 10% of whatever you produce,

You have to give.

If you want to follow the rules,

Right?

Give away 10% of everything that you earn.

Or wherever you grow,

You give.

Tilopa comes and says,

No,

No,

No,

It's not about giving or taking.

It's about realizing that transaction is fictional.

Because when can you transact?

When is that possible?

Only when there is two.

You know,

When there is two negotiating,

Then transaction can happen.

I have this,

You have that,

Okay,

I will give you this and then you will give me that.

There is me and you,

Me and you.

And that duality doesn't exist in tantra.

So the first step in order to go beyond that duality is to stop the transaction.

Thinking that if I give enough or take less,

Like this is a common thought,

You know,

If I give more and I take less,

This will make me more advanced on the path.

Tilopa says,

No,

No,

No,

Neither giving nor taking is relevant here.

Give not,

Nor taking.

Start by doing that.

Avoid the transaction of giving and taking.

Remember,

Behind every transaction there is an agenda.

It's always led by a sense of lack.

Always.

A sense of lack.

Or,

A sense of self-worth.

You know,

I'm so great,

I'm so big,

I have so much.

I can give to you.

There is an I that is generous and builds a character,

A personality around that.

No,

I am a great giver.

I am a,

How do you call it,

The guy who donates.

I'm a philanthropist.

Who am I?

I'm the great philanthropist.

I've accumulated so much wealth,

I'm now available to spread it for the benefit of humanity.

Look at me,

How great I am.

Do you see that?

I've developed a spiritual ego now.

Or,

A sense of lack.

I don't have enough,

So let's negotiate.

I will give you this,

You will give me that.

This is usually what's happening.

Now,

Even in marriage,

Between couples,

I would take it even one step further.

This is the main cause of people having a relationship.

Choosing to stick to each other.

What?

I don't have enough.

You have something that I need,

So let's negotiate.

I will give you this,

You will give me that.

I will give you a clean house and a healthy environment to raise your kids.

You will give me money.

You will give me a sense of security.

You will give me stability.

Sounds familiar?

Of course,

We cover that with the idea that we love each other.

But beneath that very thin layer of love,

There is interest from both sides that makes this structure stable.

Or at least have this seemingly sense of stability.

But as soon as something is cracking or starts to squeak,

The merchandise that you bring is not fresh enough,

I fire you and I go and look for another vendor that maybe has more fresh merchandise.

Do you know what I'm saying?

That give and take has to stop.

Tilopa says,

No giving or taking.

You stop that position of a merchant negotiating with life.

The next step will be end of duality.

There will be no more I and the rest of the world.

But it has to start with you stopping that position of merchandise.

Put your mind at rest.

True rest.

What does a true restful mind look like?

Any idea?

What does a true restful mind look like?

What are the qualities of a true restful mind?

Open.

For this hollow vendor to receive.

Open to receive like a hollow vendor.

Not attaining,

Achieving,

Acquiring,

Seeking,

Just it.

It is not attaining,

Not trying to achieve anything.

Good,

Good.

What else?

How about free of opinions?

A restful mind has no opinions about nothing.

Or at least is not attached to any opinion.

Opinions may appear or disappear,

Like thoughts.

What are opinions?

They are thoughts.

So they might pop up for a visit.

But there is no identification with any opinion.

No attachment to any opinion,

Any agenda.

A restful mind is free from any attachment.

Except everything represents.

Just a minute,

I will address that.

But this is something very delicate to look at.

How attached are you to your position in life?

How attached are you to your story?

To your truth?

How attached are you to that?

It doesn't matter if your truth is life is a struggle and we are here to fight for everything and to achieve whatever,

Or your truth is life heals to enjoy and be happy and sustainable and whatever.

It doesn't matter which story you tell yourself.

How attached are you to that?

The more attached,

The less free or the less available you are to rich Buddhahood.

I tell you,

A free consciousness is unattached.

You cannot threaten an enlightened person because he is not attached to anything.

You cannot threaten him with a contradicting idea about whatever he is saying.

You know,

He is teaching.

You say,

No,

No,

But I read somewhere that it is completely the opposite.

You say,

Ok,

Then probably you are right.

It is probably the opposite.

That is the quality of an enlightened consciousness.

There is no attachment whatsoever.

The teacher can contradict himself.

He will tell you one thing today and the opposite tomorrow.

You are like,

What the hell just happened?

Yesterday we were saying the exact opposite.

How is that possible?

Then you realize this is just a training to make your own consciousness more flexible.

Because if you are attached to something,

You become rigid.

And when you are rigid,

That is it.

You are lost.

Because life is flexible.

Life is all-prevailing.

And maybe today it fits your ideas.

Tomorrow it will contradict your ideas 100%.

And if your ideas are rigid,

A collision is inevitable.

Do you see what I am saying?

The more flexible you are with your own ideas,

The more flow you will have.

Harmonious flow that merges with life.

With the flow of life itself.

Do you see what I am saying?

So unattached mind is a restful mind.

What else?

Accept everything.

Of course,

If you have a contradicting idea about something,

That is it.

You are lost.

This is the definition of suffering.

Of drama.

No,

No,

No.

This shouldn't have happened.

How do I know?

I know.

What do you mean?

I know exactly what should have happened.

This alternative that I have in my mind is much better than reality.

It is a mistake.

God was confused when he created this situation.

Once you have this idea in your head,

That is it.

You are lost.

Once you have this idea,

And you believe it,

That is what I mean.

Ideas come and go.

It doesn't matter.

There are thoughts.

If you don't identify with them,

They have no power.

But if you believe them,

Identify with them,

That is it.

You are lost.

Definitely not a restful mind.

So,

Put your mind at rest.

Which means no clinging,

No attachment,

No contradicting,

No agenda of any sort.

When you are free from all these,

Your mind is able to expand.

Your mind is able to include everything in it.

This is a tantric quality.

Everything is included.

Nothing is excluded.

Nothing possible can be outside of a tantric mind.

Mahamudra is like a mind that clings to naught.

This sentence is so deep.

Let it resonate in you.

The greatest position,

Mahamudra,

Is like a mind that clings to naught.

Instead of clinging to something,

It clings to naught.

The attachment is to silence,

To nothing.

See if you can start attuning yourself to that.

Invitation.

Cling to naught.

Put that.

Let this be your mantra for the coming week.

Cling to naught.

Somebody write it down on the text box.

Cling to naught.

Instead of something,

Nothing.

Cling to that.

What does it mean for you to cling to naught?

Who is clinging?

You will see.

When there is no object of observation,

Immediately the observer itself is melting.

If there is no object,

There is no observer.

This is the secret of Tantra.

Cling to naught and realize the observer itself is melted.

No?

As long as there is an observer and an object of observation,

There is this duality.

And the duality creates dialogue.

Merchandising.

Transactions.

Right?

Giving,

Taking,

Me,

Me,

Me.

Losing,

Earning.

But when you cling to the naught,

You send that request and you get nothing in return.

There is nothing echoing back to you.

This is so beautiful.

Realize the observer itself is an illusion.

I hear myself speak and then I just go poof.

That's it.

Do you feel that explosion?

That's it.

Thus practicing in time you will reach Buddhahood.

That's his promise.

I cannot promise you anything.

That's his promise.

But he's saying,

Practice.

This is a practice.

Tilopa is inviting us to practice.

It's not something you hear once and,

Okay,

I got it.

You need to practice.

And he says,

If you practice in time,

You will reach Buddhahood.

It's not even a question of maybe,

If.

It's a certainty.

Practice what?

Practice silent observation.

Practice a restful mind.

Practice clinging to the naught.

Practice a life free of transaction,

Giving and taking.

Practice that.

And definitely you will reach Buddhahood.

Whatever that means.

What do you say?

Questions?

I love the fact that you recognize how terrifying this is actually.

It's a death sentence,

No less.

A death sentence.

Of ego.

Of ego.

I feel like at the beginning of this,

I was like,

Oh,

I get it on the highest level.

There's part of me that just gets it.

It's like,

Yes,

There's nothing.

There's nothing.

There's peace.

And then there's part of me that's like,

I'm in this human body.

And this commitment to raising children,

And this commitment to this experience,

And in that,

There is that attachment.

And I understand also that in attaching,

That's not.

It's clinging,

Right?

I could just accept motherhood as an experience.

It's a part of participation.

It's part of the life experience that I've chosen to be a part of.

Taking actions to continue to live in all of it.

And can we just be in this?

It's a beautiful question.

Can we just be in this?

This is so hard.

And so easy.

So beautiful.

You know,

And if you have this idea,

Wow,

This work is so demanding.

It's so hard.

I mean,

It's an impossible task.

What is he asking us to do?

I mean,

This is crazy.

If you have that thought,

I can retaliate and say,

It's much more difficult to live a life full of misery and stress,

And suffering,

Objecting,

Identifying.

It's much more stressful to live like that.

You tell me,

What is more difficult?

To live like that with your fists closed,

Fighting against life,

Or to let go?

Embracing life.

What is more difficult to do?

I tell you,

People fight for their lives and then they die.

And what happens to their fists when they die?

They let go.

You can choose.

You can do that in the grave,

Or you can do that before you reach the grave.

Isn't it so?

Yes.

It makes me think,

Though,

Even in this yogic training that I have,

That the mind and the body are so interwoven.

And so when it says,

Do not with the body,

But relax,

That's great.

And do not with the mind.

When you come into that restful mind,

Then the body can also rest.

And vice versa.

The body is at ease and the mind can be at ease.

Yeah.

In this lesson,

Tilopa is saying,

Do not with your body,

And then do not with your mind.

Both.

Both are a mistake of you trying to do something,

Whether it's with your body or with your mind.

If you're thinking you can do something to achieve,

To attain tantra,

Then you are fooling yourself.

So not the body,

Not the mind.

But definitely keep yourself open and allowing that flow to go through you,

Like an open bamboo.

Use the mind and your body as that type of tool.

A hollow bamboo.

What else?

Questions?

Nothing?

When you asked what a mind at rest is,

All I could think of was a joyful heart.

And then I thought,

Well,

But that's not my mind.

So how does that work?

And then I thought,

Oh,

Well,

The mind is not.

It's like you can't be contracted if you relax.

So if you have a joyful heart,

You can have nothing in your mind.

So the translation for clinging to the knot is a joyful heart in your vocabulary.

It's beautiful.

Yeah.

Joyful heart,

Which is the nature of yourself,

Can be revealed only when that is happening.

The background noise is tuned down.

You're not so mesmerized by the noise.

And what you see there is your true nature.

Your true nature is joy.

Your true nature is peace,

Silence.

Your true nature is love,

Unconditional.

And this is not just words and concepts now for your intellect to work with.

This is something you need to directly experience.

How?

Practice.

Practice that.

This is the guidance of Tilopa.

For this week,

At least one week,

Do that every day.

Can you do that?

I want to hear a resounding yes.

Yes.

I'm committed.

That's my mind and my heart.

Fantastic.

But do not.

Good,

Good,

Good.

So this recording will also be available on Insight Timer.

I recommend you listen to that again.

It was very meaningful in many aspects.

So give yourself another chance to work it out.

To reconnect with this invitation.

Not listening with your intellect,

No.

Listen with your heart.

Let the energy vibrate in you.

It's not about the concepts.

It's about the hidden invitation between the words.

Don't be too clingy about the ideas and the concepts.

And share it with your friends,

People.

Share it with your friends.

Send it to your groups.

This is the most amazing knowledge.

Don't be stingy.

No,

What's the word in English?

Stingy about it.

Don't be stingy about it.

Be generous.

Yes,

Thank you.

Do you want to give a silent retreat announcement?

Do I?

Yes,

Please.

What is my announcement about silent retreat?

That we're hosting a silent retreat in BC.

That's right.

There is a silent retreat.

There is a silent retreat happening in British Columbia,

Canada,

On the weekend of 7,

8 and 9 October.

Your most welcome to Canada.

Visit us in a fantastic place.

It's a community living in the nature.

It's a co-housing communal life.

We're going to have a silent retreat there.

But if you cannot go,

You might be able to participate online from home.

So keep in touch.

We'll brief you with the details how to do that,

How much is it,

Etc.

So stay tuned.

It's highly recommended to do that at least once or twice every year.

Give yourself a chance.

Not just 20 minutes a day,

But a long weekend.

Yes.

Life changing.

I agree.

Are you ready to change your life?

That's the question.

The invitation is there.

Are you ready to change your life?

And share that change with the rest of the world?

Are we ready to sing?

Are you connecting or me?

When we chant,

We just allow this knowledge to penetrate our system.

Not in the form of ideas and words and concepts,

But as energy.

As vibration.

Yeah.

This is not good.

So maybe use my phone.

How?

Just a minute.

A moment for some technical issues.

So my Bluetooth is off.

You cannot hear me now.

How can you hear me now?

Maybe through the speakers of the laptop?

I don't know.

Who is connected to this Bluetooth?

Me.

Stop.

Just a minute.

Bear with us.

Just one more minute.

It's called Bab Hanuman.

So let us just sit comfortably.

Like preparing for meditation,

But instead of a guided meditation using words,

We are going to be guided by the sound and the harmony of the music.

It's a love song for the disciple and his master.

So Anjana Namo Namo Namo Namo Anjana Namo Namo Namo Namo Anjana Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo Namo