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Dec. 15th, 2007 01:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tibetanmethodFrom the air, Samye appears as a giant mandala. If you want to learn the dharma, the monastery is the place to do it.
The man known in another time and place as Dale Cooper starts from the beginning.
***
Meditation. Memorization. Lessons in Sanskrit. He learns quickly -- learns the sutras, studies the sutras, contemplates the sutras. Begins, a little later, the study of dzogchen, and this is where his teacher comes in.
It's a difficult process. The first step introduces one to one's own nature.
The monk known in another time and place as Dale Cooper has a great deal of trouble with this. "Past life," his teacher tells him, gravely. "Work harder."
His first exposure to the true nature of his bodymind in its primordial state lasts less than a second, and it fills him with fear.
***
The cure: silent, prolonged meditation. Every day for hours on end, the monk sits with his eyes closed and observes the sky.
"You will never be a master," his teacher tells him, "but there are worse things."
***
The next step: certain teachings of the Yogācāra school of thought -- literally. Visualization, willpower, attention and focus: control your cognitive processes and you can control your reality.
When he creates his first tulpa, his teacher has to send it back.
The second tulpa he takes care of himself. And the third, and the fourth.
***
He opens his eyes.
"Well?" his teacher asks.
"No fear," he responds.
"Not bad," his teacher says.
The monk's smile doesn't need to be relieved; thus it is peaceful.
The man known in another time and place as Dale Cooper starts from the beginning.
Meditation. Memorization. Lessons in Sanskrit. He learns quickly -- learns the sutras, studies the sutras, contemplates the sutras. Begins, a little later, the study of dzogchen, and this is where his teacher comes in.
It's a difficult process. The first step introduces one to one's own nature.
The monk known in another time and place as Dale Cooper has a great deal of trouble with this. "Past life," his teacher tells him, gravely. "Work harder."
His first exposure to the true nature of his bodymind in its primordial state lasts less than a second, and it fills him with fear.
The cure: silent, prolonged meditation. Every day for hours on end, the monk sits with his eyes closed and observes the sky.
"You will never be a master," his teacher tells him, "but there are worse things."
The next step: certain teachings of the Yogācāra school of thought -- literally. Visualization, willpower, attention and focus: control your cognitive processes and you can control your reality.
When he creates his first tulpa, his teacher has to send it back.
The second tulpa he takes care of himself. And the third, and the fourth.
He opens his eyes.
"Well?" his teacher asks.
"No fear," he responds.
"Not bad," his teacher says.
The monk's smile doesn't need to be relieved; thus it is peaceful.
