When I was born, I was born. [...] I don't know. I don't [...] know. When I was born, [...]

[01:24]

I don't know. I don't know. When I was born, I was born. [...] I'm going to talk to you about it.

[02:35]

I'm going to talk to you about it. [...] My son, my son, my son, my son, my son, my son, my son, my son, [...] my son, my son, my son.

[03:50]

So I was like, I don't know what to do. [...] If you don't know what to do, you will be able to do it. You [...] will be able to do it. . [...]

[04:51]

. When I was talking about the service, I was talking about the service. [...] So I didn't want to say this, but I didn't know it.

[05:53]

I just didn't turn up. I didn't want to. [...] It was so hard to get out of here. It was so hard to get out of here. It was so hard to get out of here. It was hard to get out of here. You should have told me that you [...] should have told me

[07:16]

There was a lot of people who were talking about it. They [...] were talking about it. It's very important to me. [...] It's a long time.

[08:18]

So I'm going to go. [...] When I asked him, I asked him, he said, [...] he said . . .

[09:42]

. [...] For this practice, then, first of all, also, one uses some of the same practices which are coming later during the yoga to sort of train for them or to prepare for them. First of all, one is based in the practice of meditation. the creation stage, and then one is gaining the discipline of the threefold isolation or fourfold disregard.

[10:49]

And even though it's not required at this point, often it would be the case that the meditation, that one would use the meditation posture and meditation within darkness and so forth, as is taught within the actual yoga themselves. even at this point in the meditation. But to begin with, also, there are certain characteristics of the meditation place which should be understood before you do this type of practice. Within the Kala Chakra Mula Tantra, or the basic tantra itself, it says that one should practice in a place which is under the rule of religious leaders, where all of the people live peacefully, where there's no dispute about the ownership of the land, and that this is, generally speaking, a suitable place.

[11:50]

Also within the Mahayana Sutra Lankara, it explains that one should strive to find a place with all the proper characteristics, that is, a good dwelling and so forth, a good piece of land where there are good people or good companions present, and that there should be other specific characteristics also. That for a beginner, it's essential to begin with the physical isolation, because if as a beginner one doesn't isolate oneself physically, then it will be impossible to master the isolation of the mind. And so to begin with, then you have to isolate yourself from all distractions, and so forth, because on the basis of these different distractions, there arises the passions and attachment and so forth, and this turns the wheel of samsara. And so you have to abandon this and practice very carefully to begin with.

[12:52]

That is, in a place where there are not many people moving around during the daytime, where in the evening there is no fear of enemies or danger, where also there's no fear of death, where the water is good, that is, there should be various qualities specified, eight different qualities of water that will nurture the person who's practicing, should be a pure water supply present. And if you are one who can afford it, that is, if you are able to have a special house for meditation, a meditation hut, then it's one which should be either at the top of the structure, that is the one sitting in, or in the middle floor of the structure. And often also they say that it has a three-section entryway so that it can be made extremely dark, pitch black within it. And that this is also done by having only a small window or skylight, which is very small on the outside and then broadens

[14:03]

some towards the inside. And then this also is sealed with mud and stones and so forth to where not even a single hair could be inserted within it. This you construct if you're someone who can do this, if you can afford this. Otherwise, for an ordinary practitioner or a yogi, you use any place where certain conditions can be fulfilled. That is, you can use an earthen cave or a stone cave or a house, a room, whatever is appropriate. The most important thing being that it be dry and not damp below, and that you can make it extremely dark, that it has to be made pitch black. And then when you do this meditation to begin with, and the First session of any type of meditation, of course, you begin with taking refuge and awakening bodhicitta, then also doing the guru yoga, and doing the creation stage, as was just explained.

[15:12]

And you can do this without any special posture or any special body position or gaze. Then in the latter session during the day, then you can make a briefer type of meditation, that is doing a brief, refuge and awakening of bodhicitta, and then just feeling great devotion for the guru. In that way, it's sufficient for the later sessions, meditation sessions within one day. If you, during the earlier practices of, the earlier practices for purification and awakening, or purification and accumulating merit, that is vajrasattva and mandalas, and so forth. If you didn't do these thoroughly to where some experiences occurred, then you should also concentrate upon these practices, together with repute bodhicitta. So forth you should do the hundred-syllable mantra of ashrasattva, the mandala offerings, and so forth. And then, in this way, you do the meditation through guru yoga, then everything dissolves into emptiness.

[16:19]

from out of that one appears in the form of the deity, and you do the creation stage meditation up to the point of the mental focusing upon the deity, as was explained, where you just focus upon yourself as the deity. Then you begin in this way, but for the actual practice of threefold isolation itself, You should be seated within a dark room on a small cushion that is comfortable for meditation, and you should be in the proper physical posture. That is, as I said, if the body is straight, then the channels within it are straight, and then the mind becomes stable. So you should be seated in the sevenfold posture of Irochina. This means with the legs... in the full Vajra position, that is, first of all, putting the left leg up by the right hip, then the right leg over it and up by the left hip.

[17:26]

At the back, that is the spine very straight, and the back of the neck very straight, and the chin tucked down towards the Adam's apple. Also with the teeth and the lips resting naturally, and the tip of the tongue turned up to the palate. And for the gaze, the proper gaze should be, or rather it's not required to do any special gaze at this point, as it will be later, but you should sit even at this time in a certain position because it's very good for training for the yogas which are coming, in which you have to sit in a certain position. And for this, you, first of all, both hands, You put the thumb and the palm of the hand, then you fold the two middle fingers over that and the other fingers down also. Then you put the wrist right at the hip bone, and then you have to straighten the arm to where the elbow is straight, which pushes your shoulders up.

[18:30]

So you sit with both like that, because this is the posture used for the yogas, even though it's not actually required here, Still, if one does it here, then it's good for becoming accustomed to that. That is, as you're initially becoming used to these preparatory practices of training the body, speech, and mind in isolation. And also, even though it's not actually required, the gaze, it would be good if you also held in the sense of are similar to the manner which will be done in the first of the yogas, which is to be gazing upward in front of you, up into space without the eyes wide open, nor without them shut, but just for the natural gaze and keeping this very fixed gazing above you. And so you should sit in this posture, and this is very... powerful for removing all types of inner disharmony among the elements and the airs and so forth, and something that's very efficient for that.

[19:38]

And furthermore, then you should expel all the stale air within three times, blowing it from your nostrils. And in this way, then, you begin. After the initial blowing out of all the stale air, then you breathe in a normal fashion. You don't do anything special. with your breath. As for the state of mind, you should rest the mind in the state in which you're not thinking of anything, that is, without any mental activity whatsoever, but not concentrating too hard, and yet not being too lax, not relaxing too much. You're not trying to project your mind into space, and yet also you're not keeping your attention upon yourself, so you keep it in balance in this way. And that is, there's no point of reference. You're not basing the mind on anything. Whatever arises, you simply have an awareness of that, and you don't do anything with it. You just let the genuine state manifest without fabricating anything.

[20:43]

And if you're able to simply meditate like this, then that's it. This is fine. But of course, if the mind wanders in this state, then you have to apply the different antidotes. And this can occur in two different ways, just the wandering of the mind. First of all, it can be that when your mind wanders from this fixed state, it will be just the arising of a concept or a thought coming up in the mind. Perhaps a mental image will rise up into the mind or a series of images. And as soon as these arise, if you're aware of it, then you can cut these off. You can stop these through the awareness of them without any liking or disliking them or any examination or analyzing their nature or thinking about them, but simply dropping them. And if you can do that, then that's sufficient. But if the thoughts are not noted until there's been a whole series and you've been sort of swept away by a series of thoughts, and this can make for a very serious problem.

[21:47]

And so as soon as you're aware of this, then you have to have a very strong determination that you will not let your mind in this way become filled with the subconscious thoughts which then arise and take over. And that instead you will use all of your attention to have a very strong determination and then You rest the mind as described in a state without any thoughts or without any concepts, concentrating in this manner very strongly, and observe, simply observing whether the mind stays in place or wanders, but doing that with very strong attention that is also non-conceptual. You're not thinking about anything, it's just the awareness there. And if you do this repeatedly, then this will gradually have the effect of causing the subconscious eruption of the thought to become reduced. And after not too long of a period of practicing like this, then they will disappear and this will stop.

[22:51]

And so to do this, though, you have to be very energetic. You have to be very diligent in this type of practice. And then at the end of any session, you do... the dedication of merit in the same way as you do in the other practices. And then between sessions as well, you should try to not part from this state of mind, try to sustain this as much as you can, that is not engaging in any type of random, meaningless talk. One can use certain types of massage, or certain types of foods to nurture this type of state. And in doing this type of meditation, there may be different experiences which arise, and when these arise, you should be completely indifferent to them. That is, there could be physical experiences, focal experiences, mental experiences, various visual experiences, dreams, whatever arises, you should not try to... prevent these, nor follow them or do anything, just let them occur naturally and be very casual about them and be indifferent to any significance being within them.

[24:02]

As I said, within the scriptures, you should not find a fault anywhere, not think about it, just practice without making any claim as to signs or realization or spiritual warmth. or anything of the sort, but even though it's taught that one is meditating upon nothing, one should not also become lazy or indolent or just in a neutral state. So you have to practice very carefully in this manner. And in this fashion then, both in the session of meditation and during the sessions between meditation, you don't have any great hopes that anything good is happening, nor do you worry about anything negative, and you don't engage in any type of intense physical activities of any kind. You also completely reject all types of concepts and thoughts about enjoyable experiences or things that you wish to do.

[25:12]

Also, there must be no loss of the bodhicitta or the semen. One should dress carefully. That is not be too warm or too cold, but keep the attire correct for practice. Sleep only during the evenings. That is only at night. Don't sleep any during the daytime. And try to be very assiduous and very strenuous in the meditation. And if you can... practice like this, even for very short periods, then that's excellent. That's fine. It can be short and intense, and then that's the correct way to practice. So this is the basic explanation of the instructions on threefold isolation. And ordinarily, in giving this type of teaching, now one would meditate upon this for two or three days or more, and then continue from From there, there could also be detailed explanation by the teacher on the benefit of isolation and solitude, the nature of shamatha or calming the mind of penetrating insight, more explanation upon the specific points of the threefold isolation, and so forth.

[26:27]

It could be gone into a lot of detail. It could be gone into various blessings, initiations, extra... instructions could be given. Thayam Rinpoche also gave me the blessing last night of the simple form of Kala Chakra with one face and two hands in this conjunction as preparation for the meditation. And so then after this one begins the actual teaching upon the Sixth Branch Yoga itself. This completes the preliminary sections of the Sixth Branch Yoga. Then the Sixth Branch Yoga or the Bhashri Yoga begins tomorrow with the explanation of the first branch, that of individual withdrawal. And so that will be the actual perfection stage practices beginning at that time. So now this has completed all of the preliminary practices. So now what we will do is, again, go through these practices together with Rinpoche leading us through them and meditate upon them all together.

[27:31]

Thank you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know.

[29:01]

So now, shall I have that all? . Visualize the same as was explained before for refuge. It's been explained several times. Visualizing all the pure land, celestial palace, all the sources of refuge within, as it has been described in detail some of the time.

[30:28]

Good. Thank you. So imagine that after taking refuge that all of the Sources of refuge emanate very brilliant light, which strikes all sentient beings, purifies their obscurations, reabsorbs.

[31:35]

When it purifies all the obscurations, it transforms all physical bodies into rainbow bodies, establishes a state of mind in the Dharmakaya. Then all of the sources of refuge dissolve into light, finally into Vajradhara, and Vajradhara himself also dissolves into light and then is absorbed through the top of your head and you rest your mind. briefly in the state of emptiness. Then after that is the awakening of bodhicitta, and for which you should first of all be motivated that you wish to attain the state of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, that is using the contemplation of the nature of suffering to cause you to awaken compassion and wish to attain the state for the benefit of everyone. So you should probably try to follow along an English book, because Rinpoche is going to go through quickly into that. And that way, we can at least be following the same section.

[32:49]

I'm going to recite Vajrasattva. As you do, you imagine that from the letters of the mantra within the heart of Vajrasattva there flows nectar, which fills all of Vajrasattva, and the consort overflows the lotus flower and covers one outside of one's body, fills all inside of one's body. And as it does, first of all, the first repetition that it removes all illnesses in the form of various different impure substances such as pus and blood and so forth. Second, that it removes all demonic influences, these being removed in the form of various insects, different creatures. Then with the third repetition that this removes, that is the nectar removes all fins and obscurations in the form of sooty black type of liquid.

[34:01]

Then you should feel that all impurities of body, speech and mind are removed and that one's body in this fashion is filled with white nectar. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And then, after repeating the repetition of the mantra, you make the following prayer, in which you're acknowledging all of your own misdeeds, confessing all of these, resolving not to commit such misdeeds in the future, asking forgiveness, that is, visualizing Vajrasattva on the crown of your head, having a regret for all of the misdeeds that you have done before, the resolve not to do them in the future, and so forth.

[35:14]

After making this prayer, Vajrasattva and consort dissolve into light and are absorbed into you. There's a lot of people who are interested in this. They're interested in this. They're interested in this. They're interested in this. Now for the offering of mandalas,

[36:46]

use the same visualization as her refuge, as has been explained, that is, the palette, all the sources of refuge in the sky before and so forth. And then you feel that you begin by offering homage to all of these sources of refuge, that is, that one's self and many, many emanated bodies of oneself, figures of oneself, as well as all other sentient beings, infinite in number, begin with offering prostrations and paying homage, and then following that is the taking of refuge. I don't know.

[38:10]

And then you should feel that when you actually make the offerings of the mantlas, that is doing the physical offerings, that even though you offer this substance, and with a certain visualization of Mount Meru, the continents, and so forth, different offerings in this fashion, you should feel that what you're actually offering is your own body, speech, mind, all possessions, and all virtue which you've accumulated throughout beginningless time. And that if you do this, then this is the proper way to make the offering. I'm not going to die for you.

[39:16]

I'm not going to die for you. [...] No. No. No. No. No. No. No. [...] ... [...]

[40:35]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Next, for practice of guru yoga, you visualize again that everything is transformed into the pure land in the center, which is the tree, the lion, throne, lotus, sun, which is the guru in the form of Vajradhara. And you visualize the Guru appearing about, there's a word in Tibetan that explains the distance from the elbow to the forefinger, I think it's about a cubit, maybe about two feet, about eight of these links out from your forehead is where he is to be visualized.

[41:53]

And that you can read along as Rinpoche does the practice in Tibetan. visualizing the guru very pleased with you, with all of these various characteristics surrounding him, all the members of the lineage and all the deities, the mando, the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and so forth. And then together we should repeat the verses or the praises of the seven branches. Thank you. Thank you.

[42:54]

When I get into the truth, the truth is that [...] ... ... ... ... ... And you should feel that the Master himself as Vajradara is the embodiment of all of the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, and then visualize the letters in the different spots on his body.

[44:18]

And you should read through this on page 21 and visualize. Minbache is also just reading it, saying, imagining that the light shines out from each letter in turn. and then the different initiation that you receive, the obscurations and so forth that are purified and blessings that enter. And at the conclusion of this receiving of the initiations, then you visualize that the guru, that is Vajradara, is extremely pleased with you and that he approaches closer and closer to you, finally dissolving into light, which takes the form of nectar that is absorbed in through the top of your head.

[45:35]

And then you should briefly sit with your mind and that of the master indivisible. rest your mind in the state of emptiness. When you appear out of that state of emptiness, that is, out of the state of emptiness in which your mind is indivisible,

[46:44]

from that of the Guru, you appear as not an ordinary... ... And you also visualize the consort, just as described, and the seed syllables or the letters at the places in both of their bodies. Then imagine that light rays shine out from one's heart.

[48:00]

This transforms all of the inanimate world into the celestial palace and all the inanimate beings within the universe into Kalachapra and the divine assembly of Kalachapra. and then all of this melts into light and is dissolved into oneself. If you're going to do recitation of the mantra, then you visualize the mantra within your heart that It can be visualized as blue or green.

[49:04]

Blue for the specific purpose of sublime attainment, and green being for various different purposes, all the different, the variety of enlightened activities. You visualize that light shines forth from the letters of the mantra within your heart, that it purifies, this light purifies all the sins and obscurations of all sentient beings and pleases all of the enlightened ones. with offerings and that it's reabsorbed back into the letters within your heart and in that state with that visualization then you repeat the mantra. ... [...]

[50:26]

Then you should imagine that again, for the final time, all of the universe dissolves into light, is absorbed into you. Then that the consort dissolves into you, oneself being in the form of Kala Chakra, who then dissolves into the letters of the mantra in the heart. That these all then dissolve into the letter Ham, and then that dissolving up into the top circle and little line below it. And then that dissolves into emptiness, and you rest the mind in emptiness. And then from this state, one would then begin the practice of the perfection stage itself. So the actual teaching on the perfection stage itself will be tomorrow, but as was explained,

[51:49]

The special preparations for that are the threefold isolation and the fourfold disregard. So also we'll go through this, sit briefly this evening on that as preparation for tomorrow. Thank you. So the actual practice of the yogas, they're done in two different sessions. That is... They can be done during the daytime or during the nighttime.

[52:49]

But the specific place, as was explained, depends upon what you can afford in the sense of if you can have a special structure or meditation hut, then it should be one with an entrance, which I think has three turns in the entrance so that it can be totally dark and has only a very small opening, which is also then sealed up. Otherwise, one can use just an ordinary place, such as a cave or a room and a house. When I was born, I was born in my life.

[54:06]

I was born in my life. [...] When I was born, I was born. I was born. I was born. [...] He said, he said, he said, he said,

[55:16]

You should watch Rinpoche closely because he illustrates a lot of things. You have to watch. I don't know. [...] to use that.

[56:20]

To know the team that we're doing both of us, we're doing both of us. We're [...] doing both of us. So now, for the actual practice of threefold isolation, the basic meaning has already been explained. But for the practice, you sit in a dark room seated upon a comfortable cushion with the body in the proper position. That is, as was briefly described, with the sevenfold posture of vajrochena, with the legs drawn up in the full vajro position. the backbone straight, the chin tucked down towards the Adam's apple, the teeth and the lips resting naturally, and the tongue turned up to the palate.

[57:27]

And then the gaze, as Rinpoche illustrated, you're sitting in that posture, and you're gazing up before you. And also you have to have the hands in the proper position, that is with the thumb in the palm of the hand, the other fingers holding it down, and then put right up the hip bones on each side, and then you sit to where the elbows become straight, which will push the shoulders up on both sides. You sit in this fashion then, and as you do this, and also you have to clear out all of the stale airs within the body. And so first of all, you should perhaps blow your nose, prepare properly, then You use, with the right hand, you hold the ring finger and the little finger with the thumb and cross over the forefinger over the middle finger. Use the middle finger. Block, first of all, the right nostril.

[58:29]

This is just oral instructions, which aren't included in any book. So you're going to first blow out the right. So for blowing out the right, according to the oral transmission, you block the right. Then you breathe in through the left nostril. Then you... take the finger off, block the left, and blow out the right hard. And think that it expels all concepts and thoughts of anger. Then, having done that, then you draw in through the right, then switch the finger over, block the right, and blow out the left, thinking it blows out all concepts and thoughts associated with passion. Then blow out through both hard, and think it expels all ignorance. So you prepare it in this way, and then you sit properly in the posture just as described. So first, out of the right, it's all anger and hatred.

[59:33]

Out of the left, all passion, attachment, and out of both, ignorance. Breathe in through both to the third one and blow out through both. And then as you sit, having done this, sitting in the proper posture, having cleared out all the stale air, then you also must rest the mind in a state where you're not thinking of anything, where there's no mental activity, conceptualizing, but where you're not concentrating too much, you're not too tight, nor too relaxed, but instead with the mind just resting evenly, not in reference to anything, just letting what arises in the mind arise naturally.

[60:46]

And if you can do this, then this is itself the meditation to start with. . If any of the various problem, distractions and so forth arise, as was mentioned, you use the different antidotes to apply to them. That is, just the arising of a mental image or a thought, then you can be aware of it and reject it. stop it. But if you're caught in the streams of thoughts, becoming aware of them sort of after the fact, then you try to use further activating energy or diligence and determination to prevent that from occurring in the future and using a non-conceptual intense attention to do that, and that will cause them to decrease.

[62:03]

And then also you should have very great joy and rejoice in the fact that you will then be meditating upon the six-branched yoga and then the various experiences that can come about on the basis of that. These same type of contemplations are used in the laundry as well. So now, this evening, we received the teachings upon the creation stage meditation, which is the...

[63:03]

essential preliminary for perfection stage meditation, and then also the special preparations, that is, preparations specifically for perfection stage meditation, which will be taught tomorrow. Those preparations being the threefold isolation or fourfold disregard of body, speech, mind, and so forth. And so having done this also together this evening, then we're We've done the preparatory sections in complete form for the teaching tomorrow night, in which the actual main meditation will begin, which is the teachings of the Sixth Branch Yoga. Thank you. I was like, oh my god, [...] oh my god, oh my god, oh my [...] god.

[64:25]

This evening by visualizing great protection power surrounding us all. And then within that, a beautiful celestial palace. Then visualize that both the Master and ourselves appear in the form of Kalachakra with one face and two hands in union with the consort and marked at the forehead with the letter OM at the throat with AH and at the heart with OM and at the navel with HO Sometimes you talk in your home somewhere.

[65:41]

Oh, yeah. . [...] Now imagine that the Master is actually himself in union with the consort, that as he speaks, it is the resounding sound of emptiness that is the expression of the Dharma, and that one listens to this teaching in a state of clarity without clinging to anything.

[66:45]

... When I was born, I was born. [...] And these teachings on the Sixth Brass Shove of Kalachakra are being given on the basis of the instruction manual composed by Jonang Taranata. And from among these instructions within his presentation of the material, we've completed the ordinary preliminaries, the five ordinary preliminaries, and also the extraordinary preliminary of the creation stage meditation together with the...

[67:51]

explanation of threefold isolation and fourfold solitude. And so in this way, all preliminaries have been completed. And now we begin the actual main teaching on the six branch shoga. The six branched yoga, as it's being taught, is mentioned both within the Kala Chakra Tantra and also within the Guya Samaja Tantra, where it is where it's studied that the six yogas are the yogas of individual withdrawal and mental stability, of activating vitality and retention, intense mindfulness and meditative concentration.

[69:18]

So these teachings are mentioned in, for instance, the Guya Sumaja and the Kala Chakra Tantra. Clearly, they are the hidden intention within other Tantras. For instance, within the Ru Tantra of the Chakra Sambara, it mentions that one should practice with the repetition of mantra, meditative concentration, and so forth within the Hevajra Tantra. It says the yogi should meditate upon the six branches. And in this way, these specific teachings are also mentioned obscurely within other tantras. ... So these six branches again are, first of all, individual withdrawal, then mental stability, activating vitality, retention, intense mindfulness, and meditative concentration.

[70:45]

This is if we speak of them as the six branches or six limbs. We can also speak of these same topics in the context of the four vajras, the yoga of the four vajras, in which case the first two categories, those of individual withdrawal and mental stability, are referred to as the enlightened body vajra yoga. And then the third and fourth activating vitality and retention are the enlightened speech Vajrayoga, the fifth that of intense mindfulness is the enlightened mind Vajrayoga, and the sixth of meditative concentration is the primordial wisdom Vajrayoga.

[72:13]

And also within the different Tantras, in all Tantri systems they speak of the four-fold approaching and attainment stages of meditation or practice that is usually mentioned as the generation of the deity, then the marking of the deity with the letters Oma-Hom, then the merging of the pledge and the wisdom aspect of the deity, and the receiving of the consecration. So in the context of these four categories, also you can classify the six branch yoga. If you do this, then the first two, individual withdrawal and mental stability, belong to the category of approaching. The second, those second two, second pair, that of activating vitality and retention to near-approaching, intense mindfulness to attainment, and meditative concentration as great attainment.

[73:38]

And again, they can also be categorized in another way, called the three virtues, that is, as virtuous to begin with, virtuous in the intermediate stage, and virtuous at the end, in which case, again, they're divided into three pairs, where the first two of individual withdrawal and mental stability are considered virtuous in the beginning, that of activating vitality and retention, virtuous in the middle, and intense mindfulness and meditative concentration as virtuous at the end. However, the point of all of these yogas is the same, that is for the realization of Mahamudra. So, we had a lot of people who [...] had a lot.

[75:08]

These six stages of practice are also sequential in the sense of, for the actual meditation upon the six branch yoga, one has to practice them in order. That is, when the first has been awakened, that is, the qualities of one have been awakened in one stream of being, then one does the next one and so forth. And that way, they are linked together in a sequence and so one can begin first of all with learning them that is receiving each of them in turn and training in them and then one can practice them all together. That was a lot of people, and we had a lot of people.

[76:12]

We had a lot of people. [...] Actually, the preferred method of practice would be to receive the teachings upon one and then practice that until experience had been developed and receive the teachings on the next, practice that, and so forth. That is, once one had learned one practice and done it well, then you proceed to the next. In this way, this is the more thorough manner. But in the sense of... learning through aspiration to perfect them all, and also just in a sense of corresponding to the complete sections within this entire teaching, because there is not enough time to do it in that way, everyone being busy and having different commitments and so forth, then it's taught in the manner in which we're receiving it now, in which one, first of all, receives teachings upon each one of them,

[77:36]

And then you can also meditate upon them all together, that is in one session even, as they say, upon one cushion. You can sit and go through all of the meditation. Thank you. Now, from along these various different ways of categorizing this teaching, the way that it's actually presented is according to the three virtues.

[78:48]

And so, as such, the first pair of teachings that is upon individual withdrawal and mental stability are categorized as the practice's virtues at the beginning. And so this is the first section which is taught. And then within that, we begin first of all with teaching upon individual withdrawal. So the first teaching is upon individual withdrawal. And within the oral transmission of Kalachaprabada, it states that each of these limbs or branches of the teaching further are categorized into six parts.

[79:58]

And there are various different ways to explain it on the basis of an outline such as this. But also there are other teachings given in conjunction with it to make it easier to understand. So, first of all, in this teaching, then there are different categories. That's what it is. Now the basic two categories for teaching of individual withdrawal is, first of all, the essential points for the practice, and then second, establishing the meaning of this practice within the mind. So first teachings will be upon essential points for practice of individual withdrawal. And within this section as well, this subsection, that of the essential points for practice, there are two parts.

[81:09]

The first being the actual teachings upon individual withdrawal, and the second being the techniques for enhancement and variation. And within the teachings on individual withdrawal, that is on the actual practices of individual withdrawal, again, this is divided into two sections. The meditation, that is the yoga of space at night, and the yoga of cloudless sky during the day. When I was born, I was born. I was born. I was born.

[82:12]

I was born. [...] I was told that I had a lot of money. [...] I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm not going to be able to do that.

[83:16]

I'm not going to be able to do that. Now for the first of these categories then, this is the night yoga. It's mentioned specifically within Kala Chakra Tantra itself, where it says that one should focus the mind and the eyes intensely in space along the vajra path without closing them, that is, without closing the eyes.

[84:19]

So you begin, first of all, with the preliminaries, as have already been explained, that is beginning with refuge, bodhicitta, and so forth, through the creation stage meditation, which is the preliminaries for these perfection stage practices. And as was also briefly explained last night, it's necessary to do this practice in complete darkness. This is the night yoga. And so you have to do this in a dark room. For instance, if you can afford it, if you're a person who can have a structure, then it's one which... you're able to seal completely. For instance, as was mentioned, where there's a three-way entrance, so it can be completely sealed, and only a small opening, which is also sealed. And you must also sit in the Vajra Atana, that is, in the Vajra position with the feet completely drawn up, crossed. This is mentioned in the Vimalaprabha, or the Immaculate Light Commentary upon the Kala Chakra, where it says that

[85:23]

At the time when you're meditating and making supplications to the specific deity, for Buddhists, it's praised that one must sit in the Vajra Atana, that is, in the Vajra position. And you may have your hands either resting in the lap in the meditation, the normal meditation posture, or, as was mentioned last night also, with the fifth at the hips and the arms straight. It must be one of these two positions that you sit in. And specifically also within the tantra itself, there's a gaze or a look that you have to use. In the tantra, it states that for approaching, that is, this first pair of practices of individual withdrawal and mental stability, one has to gaze with the use the wrathful gaze of Ushanisha Chakravartan, gazing at the sky.

[86:32]

This is the first yoga. So this gaze specifically is called that of Ushanisha Chakravartan. And this means to gaze upward 16 finger widths from your eyebrows. So you're gazing up, focusing the eyes that far, out in space. That is just resting the gaze in space in this manner. And this is required for this. This is also mentioned further in one of the Tantra texts, which is called the Brief Presentation of Initiation, where it says that one gazes with the eyes which are neither shut nor wide.

[87:43]

And so this means that you don't have the eyes extremely wide nor wide, too shut, but just looking with a natural gaze rolled up and looking about. So for these first two branches of the practice, that is, for individual withdrawal and mental stability, except for in specific instances. One always uses the posture, physical posture as has been described, and the specific gaze for these first two sets of practices.

[88:46]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Also, there's essentials of body, speech, and mind, essential points of practice. The first is immobile body, in the sense that you have to sit with no other physical motion or activities, and as such, then the channels within also stay in place, also are at rest. And for the vocal... It's again verbal immobility that is the same as during the threefold isolation as was mentioned yesterday.

[89:53]

The essential point for the mind is again immobility similar to the sense of the explanation during threefold isolation. That is with the eyes gazing into darkness, into dark space, just ahead and above, as was mentioned, and with the eyes fixed at that point. The same point is made within the Vimalaprabha, or the stainless light, where it says that one meditates without any thought in darkness to begin upon emptiness. So this is the mental immobility.

[90:56]

... When I was born, I was born. [...] So I'm going to talk about it. I'm going to talk about it. I'm going to talk about it.

[91:58]

I'm going to talk about it. I'm going to talk about it. My mother, my [...] mother, Also within the basic text on the sixth branch yoga by the Mahathita Shaaripa, it says that through threefold immobility, the ten errors are drawn into the awaduti, the central channel.

[93:09]

and the conceptions about outside and inside cease, and the ten signs appear. This is the branch of individual withdrawal. So here he's stating again, as has been emphasized, that one has to have immobility of body, speech, and mind, that is, seated in the proper posture with the vajra position, with the feet in the vajra position, and so forth, and with speech in mind also, fixed and immobile. And as such, then through the passage of the ten errors into the central channel, ordinary conceptualization will cease and the ten signs of clear light will appear. And this is the meaning of the first branch of individual withdrawal. Also, the master, the splendid master, Saraha,

[94:02]

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