Fivefold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

SUMMARY

Part 1 – Introduction 1

In the Bon Buddhist tradition, the goal of our life is to achieve full liberation, or

Buddhahood. There are three principal pathways to Liberation:

1. Path Of Renunciation. You renounce your negativities, renounce your negative

emotions, renounce your negative thoughts, renounce the five poisons and ignorance. You

are trying to throw away the poisons. This is more like a path of the Sutra.

2. Path Of Transformation, a path of the Tantra. This is trying to work with the five

poisons, and transform those energies into the five wisdoms. Transform poison into a

medicine, and heal the sickness.

3. Path Of Dzogchen. With any negative emotions, just leaving them as they are,

where they are, and not following them, not elaborating them - just leaving all as it is. What

happens is they just liberate by themselves - self-liberation.

Part 2 – Introduction 2, Overview of the Five-Fold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen:

1. Vision Is A Mind: What is Vision? Look at all those stories/sufferings in your head.

That is your vision. It’s you in your head. ‘Vision is just my mind’. My mind has created

these visions. You can see many layers of your fear right now, this very moment.

2. Mind Is Empty: What is a mind? You search for mind internally and directly and clearly

without analysis. When you do that you achieve an inner experience - you don’t find

anything. Mind is emptiness. You find inner vastness, inner opening, inner awakening.

3. Emptiness is Clear Light: What is this Emptiness? We just look at the space. It’s

nothing, but you can be fully Aware of that nothingness. You can be fully awakened in

that nothingness. Like a sun in the clear sky. You look through that voidness, that

space; you see the Awareness of the mind.

4. Clear Light Is Union: What is this space of pure Awareness? ‘Clear’ is referring to the

aspect of Emptiness, and ‘Light’ is the aspect of Awareness. Yes it is Empty, but you

have to be Aware. Yes you have to be Aware but not lose the connection to the

Emptiness – the Base. In Dzogchen the word ‘Inseparable’ is used more than the

Tantric word ‘Union’. When you feel that Union, when you feel that Inseparable state,

that’s all that matters.

5. Union Is Great Bliss: The Union of Emptiness and Clarity – it is Great Bliss. Bliss is

inner awakening, inner joy. This spontaneous Bliss is spiritual awakening. It is coming

from realization of the nature of mind.

So you see that mental stories and sufferings can become Bliss, can become Awakening,

when one follows these five steps. So when you are in pain or fear, realize 1) the Vision Is

A Mind, 2) Mind Is Empty, 3) Emptiness Is Clear Light, 4) Clear Light Is Union, then that

painful vision has become 5) a Great Bliss. So bottom line is - a pain can liberate into a

Great Bliss, when following in the right order and having experience with each stage.

PRACTICE PART 1 (from video Part 3 – Vision Is Mind)

Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and look at your mental vision. Just

say “Vision Is My Mind”. Just look at those images. Vision Is My Mind. My vision of my

[fear/suffering/anger etc], it’s just my mind. My mind is creating these visions.

Then you internally look closer to it – closer, closer, closer. With nonconceptual

Awareness, you are looking closer, closer, closer. And the vision just dissipates because a

powerful, subtle, wind of your Awareness is blowing it away.

So at some point, you just don’t see it. All these objects, the stories, just disappear.

And then what is left? Simply the mind. The subject is left, without its object. Vision Is My

Mind. I’m not finding what I’m looking for, rather, I’m just finding who is looking at it.

Now the object and story of that fear has diminished – dissolved. Your body, your

spirit, your mind, your breathing, everything just became… much lighter. Rest in that

lightness of the mind.

So just simply repeat this exercise, and find that lightness, and sit there as long as

you can, and repeat this again and again and again.

PRACTICE PART 2 (from video Part 4 – Mind Is Empty)

We found that 1) ‘Vision is a Mind’, there’s nothing solid to visions. So What Is A

Mind? The answer is 2) ‘Mind Is Empty’.

So what is my mind? Where is it coming from? Does it have a specific color, shape,

location, any consistency? Just internally look as an observer – not with thought analyses.

Look with your Nonconceptual Awareness. Look closer, closer, closer, and it happens the

same - that fear, that pain, that “I”, the I, the ego, dissipates. You find another big

discovery of opening. Openness. You nonconceptually observe. Without thoughts. Very

much like how senses observe. In the first practice you are observing the vision, now you

observe the mind. You observe observe observe – it dissipates. Do that, again and again,

so you feel the full experience of Openness. You rest in that inner Openness. That inner

vastness. Without elaborating anything. Without analyzing, without judging it, just simply

rest in that inner vastness where you are feeling some sense of peace without your fear and

pain.

This is the medicine for pain and fear. This will not only help you to heal your own

fear and pain, it will also help you to heal collective pain. Any moment when you feel

Openness, it affects all who are connected to you.

So the question is ‘What is the Mind’. And experiencing that Mind Is Empty. So any

given moment mind is always clear. No matter how painful, fearful, or confused you feel, if

you look directly to your mind, those clouds will dissolve and you will find your inner peace,

inner opening. You just have to look the right direction, in the right way.

PRACTICE PART 3 (from video Part 5 – Emptiness Is Clear Light)

First was Vision Is Mind, second was Mind Is Empty, now Emptiness Is Clear Light.

The question is: What is Emptiness? First we looked at the fear, all the visions and

suffering of the fear, and when we looked close we did not find anything as an object.

Second we looked at the subject: What Is The Mind? And we couldn’t find any thing solid;

there’s no inherent existence of mind. Mind is simply Empty. So now we ask, What is

Emptiness? Is it nothing? No. Emptiness Is Clear Light. Emptiness is the fullness. That

Emptiness, that Openness, is the solution. That space is like the sky. It’s our wakening

quality.

So, in the practice, I don’t find anything. There’s no ego. There’s no me. Just

became like a space. Be aware of that. Look at Awareness. Feel Awareness. That

Awareness is like sunshine. The inner Openness helps us to see our Awareness like inner

luminosity. Can you see it? Can you feel it? Connect with that and continuously become

familiar with that Awareness. So that is the third part of the practice.

PRACTICE PART 4 (from video Part 6 – Clear Light Is Union)

We started with 1) Vision Is A Mind, 2) Mind Is Empty, 3) Emptiness Is Clear Light,

now 4) Clear Light Is Union, and the question is What Is Clear Light?

The answer is Clear Light Is Union. ‘Clear’ referring to Emptiness, Openness, and

‘Light’ referring to Awareness, Luminosity.

These two are not a separate quality and not a separate experience. It’s just one

experience. Watch out for mind to come back dull or overactive - simply because it does

not have the experiences of this Space. It does not have connection to this Base. Clear

Light Is Union. When we sit in that inner space, we need to have a complete balance of that

Openness and Awareness. A complete balance of Emptiness and that Clarity. The

inseparable state of that Emptiness and Clarity is very important.

So first you are looking at objects of your fear, the visions, and you don’t see

anything. Then you look to who is looking, you look for a subject, an ego; you don’t find

anything. So you experience a full Spaciousness internally. And you’re fully Aware. And

that Awareness is no different from that Openness. That Openness is not different from that

Awareness. There’s no separation. It’s an inseparable state. And you rest in that

inseparable state without elaborating, without analyzing, judging, anything - just simply rest

in Openness and Awareness as clear and as long as you can, and repeat that, and become

more familiar with that as much as possible.

PRACTICE PART 5 (from video Part 7 – Union Is Great Bliss)

Union Is Great Bliss. The Union is about the connection between the Openness and

Awareness - when that connection is Awakened, when that connection is familiar, when that

connection is absolutely balanced, then quality arises.

If you’re resting in the inseparable state of Emptiness in a Clear Light, it will make

you happy. When you feel connection to that inner Openness, connection to the Inner

Light, and become familiar with that inseparable state, it will give birth to the four

immeasurables – ten prajnaparamitras. It will give birth to all the countless enlightened

qualities. When you have enough familiarity in that space of Union Of Openness And

Awareness, the Bliss will come from that place.

Union Is Great Bliss – it’s like a vast clear sky, and a luminous warm sunshine. The

Union of that luminous warm sunshine and the vast sky gives birth to inner joy.

Part 8 – Conclusion

This is a very precious teaching. The Dakini will keep it secret except for those who

are meant to understand.

Video Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K47LDZ3xl2k&feature=relmfu

Website https://www.ligmincha.org/

Fivefold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Part 1 – Introduction 1

This is a continuation of a Youtube teaching, and I know many of you have been

following my last teachings on Youtube, teachings on Warrior Seed Syllable. And I have

received a lot of wonderful feedback from many people. And I am very happy to hear that,

and that I decided to do more so as it’s continuously benefiting many people and this is

clearly seems like a wonderful tool. The media is this wonderful tool, the technology is a

wonderful tool, to break the boundaries of… many boundaries to able to do this – so that not

me that I have to go to many people, or the people have to come to me. This still is

possible to communicate some teachings so I’m really happy to do this. And so those of

you have been watching it and kind of really like seriously trying to follow practice, and I’m

very happy you are doing that. But I also… if this is very meaningful to you then I’m going

to ask you if you can also let a lot of other people know, basically take a little initiative, to put

together a bunch of addresses together, inform other people who might be benefited,

friends of yours, and so on. So that will be… I’m requesting especially those who feel it’s a

very beneficial thing for you, and so we can, that this is how we can share with more people.

And this is, I will feel wonderful as I’m putting my effort and energy to do this, and also my

students are giving me support to do this.

In the Bon Buddhist tradition, the goal of our life is to achieve a full liberation, or

Buddhahood. And the Buddha nature is in every sentient beings, not only human beings

but every insects and any animals. We all have the same Buddha nature. And our life is,

the meaning of this life, the important part of the meaning of this life is to achieve that.

So Dharma – there are three principal pathways. One - it’s called A Path Of

Renunciation. That basically you renounce your negativities, your negative emotions, your

negative thoughts whenever they are coming. So that you learn to control and renounce.

That is more like a path of the Sutra.

The second path is the Path Of Transformation, a path of the Tantra. Basically it

does not necessarily renounce the things, renounce the five poisons, and ignorance, but it’s

trying to work with the five poisons, and transform those energies into the five wisdoms. So

basically this is the Path Of Transformation.

And finally, The Path Of Liberation is the Path of Dogzchen. Which is very much like

a… not to renouncing your five poisons, or your negative emotions, or not trying to work and

transform and changing negative emotions; rather, leaving them as they are, where they

are, and not following them, not elaborating them, just leaving as it is. And when you leave

these negative emotions as it is, they do not have any… their own power to continue. What

happens is they just liberate by themselves. It’s called self-liberation.

It’s like a… the metaphor is like an example of a poison, a plant poison. The

ordinary person cannot use it. If you eat it you will die. Therefore the only thing you do is

you are trying to renounce - you are trying to throw away. Put it away somewhere the

childrens cannot touch; nobody can touch – that’s the Path Of Renunciation.

Or doctors who have skill and knowledge to transform them…. So doctor adds some

other medicinal plants, and transforms that poison into a medicine, and heals the sickness.

So that is like the Path Of Tantra and Path Of Transformation.

And the peacock eats the poison. And when peacock does not need to renounce it,

or trying to change it or transform it, peacock eats it as it is. And what the poison does to

peacock – it enhances the beauty and the color of the peacock’s life. So that is like the

approach of the Dzogchen.

So these are the three principal methods of A Path To Liberation. They all are

important - equally important.

Part 2 – Introduction 2

To introduce the Five-Fold teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen:

Vision is a mind Mind Is Empty

Emptiness is Clear Light Clear Light Is Union Union Is Great Bliss

What does this means? This basically means… if your vision either is internal or

external vision – and particularly those internal visions, like a vision of fear, a vision of

fearful pain, of fear-related sufferings, fear-related confusions, fear-related angers, and all

the stories related to that fear. If you look at those all are inner visions. If you close your

eye it’s just in your head. It’s in your vision. Probably not much is ‘out there’. So look at

that, all those things in your head. So that is your vision. So if you understand truly, that is

your inner vision. It’s you in your head. Then what happens? Then that’s how you

understand that ‘vision is just my mind’. Just my mind has created a vision.

And then the second question comes: What Is A Mind? So at that time, we do the

second part of the practice. A search of one’s mind. What Is A Mind. What is in my mind.

Who am I. How does my mind look like. Where does it come from. Where does it stays,

where is it going. Is it any place? You search for that internally and directly and clearly

without analysis. When you do that you achieve an inner experience. Inner experience that

you don’t find anything. Rather you find inner vastness, inner opening. Inner awakening

experience you will have. When you have that, that you cannot find any mind to pinpoint

down, that is like an experience of the second part of the practice.

So then, the question is - Ok I cannot find the mind. Mind is, basically it’s empty. So

what is this that Emptiness is about? What is this space is about? What is this nothingness

about? What is this boundlessness about? So you… it’s not… journey doesn’t stops here,

by not finding your mind. Journey continues. So the third step is to find what is this

Emptiness? The reason why it is important to find, ask this question why, what is this

Emptiness, is because many time when people search for mind and not finding anything

they fall into a nihilist experience. ‘Oh, there’s nothing there, so nothing to worry about.’

One fell into nihilist, denial, and lack of Awareness in practice. So that is why you ask the

question of what is this Emptiness? And that’s why it says ‘Emptiness is Clear Light’.

So you ask this question, and then how you look – we just look at the, look at that

space. It’s nothing, but you can be fully Aware of that nothingness. You can be fully

awakened in that nothingness. You can be fully alive in that nothingness. Like a sun can

be cloudlessly shining in the clear sky in that nothingness. So the sunshine is a very

important part of the empty space, empty sky. You look in that clear sky, you see the

sunshine. You look through that voidness, through that opening, you see the Awareness of

the mind. That’s why it’s called, the third part it’s called ‘Emptiness is Clear Light’.

So the fourth part now you are saying, what is it the Clear Light is? I look for the

mind, I couldn’t find anything. It’s totally empty. I look I look into the Emptiness; I don’t see

anything, I just see a pure Awareness. Now what is there of pure Awareness? So that is

the fourth question. Clear Light Is Union. That is the kind of answer of the fourth question.

‘Clear Light Is Union’ basically means…. It’s a two word, ‘Clear’ and ‘Light’, which both are

Union. ‘Clear’ referring to the aspect of Emptiness, the ‘Light’ referring to the aspect of

Awareness. Yes it is empty, but you have to be Aware. Yes you have to be Aware but not

lose the connection to the Emptiness. That is what it say. So Clear Light Is Union. Of

course sometime the word ‘Union’ is used more in the Tantra; in Dzogchen the word

‘Inseparable’ is used more. But in the true experience, it doesn’t make so much different for

our ordinary sense. Most important thing is that in your experience, when you feel that

Union, and when you feel that Inseparable state, that’s all what it matters. So the Clear

Light Is Union; it is very important, because when people have experiences of Light, or

people have experiences of Clarity, or qualities, like compassion, or love, sometime, it

chances to lose the connection to the base – to the Emptiness. That’s why the Union

aspect is very very important. So if there is a Union, then you just rest in that experience.

That is the fruition of the fourth part of the practice.

Last part is the fifth part of the practice. It also is a simple easy question saying, so,

Union Is Great Bliss. The Union of Emptiness and Clarity, it’s a Great Bliss. So Great Bliss

- Bliss is like inner awakening. Inner experience, like inner joy. Of course we can all have

experience of joy in our ordinary life, just because the weather is beautiful, I am very happy

today… those joys are not the same as when you have experience of ‘Union Is Great Bliss’.

Union of Great Bliss - this Bliss is like a spiritual awakening. Because it is coming from that

realization of inner quality, realization of nature of mind. Therefore it is like a true

awakening, true Bliss. Effortless Bliss, a spontaneous Bliss. So if you look that experience,

particular given experience like we were talking about working with the fear, and once all the

mind which is related with the fear, all the negative emotions and pain and suffering,

confusions related with the fear, you look at all those aspects of the mind can become this

Bliss, can become this Awakening. When one followed these five principal sequence. So in

a simple way to say will be, like you’re pain or fear, when you realize that is your vision, that

is a vision, the vision is a mind, Mind Is Empty, Emptiness Is Clear Light, Clear Light Is

Union, then that painful vision can become a Great Bliss. So bottom line is, a pain can

liberate into a Great Bliss. But following in the right order and having experience with each

stages.

Part 3 – Vision Is Mind (first part of practice)

So first part of the practice of Dawa Gyaltsen, the Five-Fold Teachings of Dawa

Gyaltsen, is the ‘Vision Is Mind’.

So what is the vision? Vision is something that we have in our mind; in our head.

For example, the vision of fear. A vision of five negative emotions, which is related to the

fear. The pains which are caused by these five poisons, and which is primarily caused by

fear – they all are our inner visions.

And we have these experiences because of many reasons. Because we have a

foundation of something called like a ‘conceptual karmic body’. Or we can sometime look at

that aspect of that as a pain body, so conceptual karmic body creates a conceptual pain

body. And this conceptual karmic body is not only individual, but sometime it can be a

collective. We have a conceptual karmic body collective with our family members. So we

have a pain body, a collective pain body with our family members. We have a collective

pain body with the country we are part of. So we share these collectively or individually. So

because of this, sometime all our fears are also not necessarily only part of your self - a part

of a bigger collective situations.

So if you look at either it’s a collective one or individual one, lets look at that vision.

Look at it closely, at this very moment: my fear, my negative emotions, five poisons related

to that fear. My pain and confusions related to that fear. My situations that are causing

some pains to other people, which is also related to my inner fear. You can see many

layers of your fear right now, this very moment. I’m not talking about the past, I’m not

talking about the future, I’m talking about this very moment in your life.

So this is like inner vision. So if some moment, sometime if you look at it closely,

there’s nothing! This very moment you can be happy as you can be. You can be

enthusiastic as you can be. You can be energetic as much as possible. But somehow,

your conditions, your habit, you choose to awake that fear, you choose to go into that fear,

and you choose to suffer through that fear. But we have to change that. By knowing this is

what happening to us, and this is what we are contributing to this to happen.

So with the first part of the practice, just you sit in a comfortable position, you close

your eye, you look at that vision. Just say “Vision Is My Mind”. Just look at those images.

Vision Is My Mind. My vision of my fear, it’s just my mind. My mind is creating these

visions. So what do you do, you can just say it a few times, just to remind yourself, then you

internally look closer to it – closer, closer, closer, as if you are looking at a flower, you are

looking closer, your are looking closer, you are looking closer. So through the sense you

are looking closer. Internally, with nonconceptual Awareness, you are looking closer,

closer, closer. So when you look closer like this, what happens, is those vision just

dissipates. Like clouds just dissipating in the sky. These clouds are dissipating because a

powerful, subtle, wind of your Awareness is blowing it away. Therefore those visions are

clearing. And you don’t see anything. At some point, you just don’t see it. All this is

objects, the stories, just disappears. An then what is left? Simply the mind who is trying to

find it! Trying to watch where they are, it’s only that mind is left, that Awareness has just

left. So there’s nothing as object to find, but the subject is just left without its object. Then

that’s what it means – Vision Is My Mind. I’m not finding what I’m looking for, rather, I’m just

finding who is looking at it. In this experience – what happens? You just feel like ... Like

40-50% of the fear, piece of your fear, is just kind of dissolved. Then all the object and

story related with that fear has just kind of diminished – dissolved. Your body, your spirit,

your mind, your breathing, everything just became… much lighter. And what do you do?

You just rest in that lightness of the mind. Do 5 minute, 10 minute, 15 minute, 1 hour, 2

hour, depends on your ability to sit in Awareness. But if you are used to sitting in

Awareness, sit longer. But if you are not used to sitting in Awareness sit short but clear.

There are many practitioners who sit long and unclear; it is better to sit short and clear. So

even is a 5 minute, and that is a great beginning for you to develop. So, so what you can

do, is just simply repeat this exercise, and find that lightness, and sit there as long as you

can, and repeat this again and again and again. So that is the first part of the practice.

Part 4 – Mind Is Empty (second part of practice)

So the second part of the Five-Fold Teaching of Dawa Gyaltsen, is ‘Mind Is Empty’.

So basically the second line is called ‘Mind Is Empty’. So basically, that is the answer of

question: What is the Mind? Because first part was ‘Vision Is My Mind’; then we found that

‘Vision is a Mind’, there’s nothing solid vision there, out there. But next question is: What Is

A Mind? So therefore, the answer is ‘Mind Is Empty’. So that is simply an intellectual

question, an intellectual answer, but how does that question applies to myself in our life?

How does that answer make sense in experience – on experiential level, to oneself, so that

it becomes a foundation or cause for next development. So that is important to be aware of,

to know.

So as an exercise, as a practice this will be – of course there’s no way to do the

second part of the practice unless you did the first part of the practice. So those you haven’t

done, strongly recommend to do the first part.

Now, if you have done the first part already, which is saying vision of pain, vision of

negative emotions, vision of fear, having that inner vision, saying what is that? Clearly you

realize nothing is solid there out there, it’s just my mind. Now, specifically, this moment,

when you realize that you ask this: What is in my mind? Where is my mind? Where is it

coming from? Where is it staying? Where it’s going? Does it have a specific color, shape,

location, any consistency, just ask question. But not so much intellectual asking question –

just internally look as a senses observe – not thought analyzes. As senses observe. Look

with your Awareness. Nonconceptual Awareness. Look at it. Where is my mind? Where

it’s coming from? Where it staying where it’s going? Just you look, look internally, look

closer, closer, closer, and it happens the same thing. That fear, that pain, that “I”, the I, the

ego, dissipates. One after another, they all just dissipates, again, same way as before, like

cloud dissipating, dissolving in the sky. Why these cloud are dissolving in the sky, because

here the subtle wind of your inner Awareness is blowing toward that ego – toward that fear,

toward that pain. And because of that wind, these inner clouds of ego and pain are

dissipating in inner vast sky. Gradually, slowly they dissipate, dissipate, and what do you

find? You find another big discovery of opening. A new dimension. Openness. You

experience internally. What do you feel? You feel just so much like a release, freedom, a

peace, a possibility, in that space. Only way it’s going to happen, when you learn how to

directly observe. In another word, how to nonconceptually observe. Without thoughts.

Very much like how senses observe. This case you are looking, observing the mind, not the

vision. In the second practice you observing the mind, not the vision. In the first practice

you observing the vision, not the mind. You observe observe observe – it dissipates. Now

then it really feels like a, like a complete like 100% opening. Because the first practice

when you did it feels like a the vision of fear has dissolved.

Second observation, second part of the practice, it feels like the fear itself has

dissolved. The pain itself has dissolved. So the ability to do that, again and again, so you

feel the full experience of Openness. And what do you do in that moment - same as before,

you rest in that inner Openness. That inner vastness. Without elaborating anything.

Without analyzing, without judging it, just simply rest in that inner vastness where you are

feeling some sense of peace without your fear and pain.

And it’s not just a fear or pain, the fear and pain that you are having this particular

moment in your life. And this is the medicine for that pain and that fear. This will not only

help you to heal your own fear and pain, it will also help you to heal collective pain.

Collective fears that we share with our family members, that we share with our fellow

friends, and then also in a sense of big, in a sense of country, a global sense of collective

fear that we have, it will help. For sure it may help people that you are very emotion, very

tied to, it will help them too. Any moment when you feel Openness, it affecting all the others

who are related to you.

So this is… so the second part of the practice is very much… the question is ‘What is

the Mind’. And experiencing that Mind Is Empty. So any given moment, any given moment,

mind is always clear. So just think about this for the last thing. No matter how painful you

are, no matter how fearful you are, no matter how confusion you feel, just realize any given

moment if you look directly to your mind, those cloud will dissolve and you will find your

inner peace, inner opening. Any given moment they are always there and you have the

door, you just have to look the right direction, in the right way.

Part 5 – Emptiness Is Clear Light (third part of practice)

So the third part of the teaching of Dawa Gyaltsen is Emptiness Is Clear Light. So

because the first was Vision Is Mind, then the second part was Mind Is Empty, now

Emptiness Is Clear Light. That is like an answer. The question is: What is Emptiness? In

our experience of this practice, we were looking at the fear, all the visions and suffering of

the fear, and when we looked close to that we did not find any thing as an object. Then we

looked at the subject: How/What Is The Mind? And we couldn’t find any thing solid,

inherent existence, of mind, either. Mind was simply empty. So what is Emptiness? So this

is the search that we wanted to do.

So, in your experience, not finding anything of your fear either externally or internally,

not finding that fear, ego, and it just, as you look closer and closer inward, it just completely

dissolved, and just becomes nothing. Just basically you don’t find nothing. Nothing.

Nothing. What does that mean? Does that mean nothing is there? As you experience this

nothing, you don’t find anything, you don’t see anything, what does that mean. Is it nothing?

No. And that is exactly the reason why the third question is very important. Because many

time either philosophically (there are many tenet and doctrines) fell into that nihilist view.

There are many a practitioner and experiences fell into that denial. Basically, there’s some

point when they are searching they don’t see nothing say ok there’s nothing. And they go

also again the same way into a nothingness very deep; and that nothingness can also

cause a depression. A rigidity. Like a military. Stiffness in your body and your breath. In

your behaviour. That is very important question. That is why we ask What Is That

Emptiness? So Emptiness Is Clear Light. Emptiness is the fullness. That Emptiness is the

source of all the qualities. That Emptiness, that Openness, is the solution. That Openness

is like the mother who gives the birth to child. That space is like earth which grows all the

vegetations. That space is like the sky where all the stars and planet exist. The only way

they can exist, to know, to its potentiality, and its luminosity, and its dynamic energy aspect

of it, and that translate into very simple translation in our own this moment experience: It’s

just our wakening quality, our wakeness. Not nothingness. Our wakeness. Being aware of

it.

So, in the practice, as you, when you are looking into that, you ‘re looking for your

mind, you don’t find anything. That is the place where we left our last practice: I don’t find

nothing. There’s no ego. There’s no me. There’s no my mind that I can pinpoint down in

one place. Just became like a space. Be aware of that. Look at that Awareness. Feel that

Awareness of that. That Awareness is like a sunshine. If there is no cloud in the sky, you

look through that clear sky, in the sun, then you see the luminosity of sunshine. The

absence of cloud helps to see the sky; the presence of sky helps to see the luminosity of the

sun. The absence of fear, as a vision, fear as a subject, helps to see our Openness, inner

Openness; the presence of inner Openness help us to see our Awareness like inner

luminosity. Can you see it? Can you feel it? So it’s not just nothing – it’s just a full

awakening. Full sunshine. Just Be in that Alertness, Liveliness. Connect with that. So the

more you connect with that Awareness, the less chance you will have falling into nihilist and

denial.

If you look at many times, people doing sitting practices, I have visited some places

with groups, they are doing sitting practice, and I can see they are sitting quite good position

in the first moment. And after ten minute later, they are all doing this position – what is that?

That is not Awareness. That is clearly a yoga of the sleeping position. They’re all falling

asleep. And they think they are resting in the nature of mind or sitting in the Emptiness,

which they are not. Why? Maybe in the beginning they had experience of Emptiness, and

then lack of their Clarity they fall into dullness and then the dullness put them into a deep

sleep. There is no awakening. They are not even able to keep their head straight. That is a

sign of lack of Awareness. So it’s very important to not only have the experiences of

voidness in the third practice. To be aware of that voidness, to be in that state of Awareness

and continuously become familiar with that Awareness. So that is the third part of the

practice.

Part 6 – Clear Light Is Union (fourth part of practice)

Part Four, the practice of Dawa Gyaltsen, which is ... we started with Vision Is A

Mind, Mind Is Empty, Emptiness Is Clear Light, Clear Light Is Union, and Part Four is… so

that Clear Light Is Union, that is like the answer, but the question is What Is Clear Light?

And in our experience was, working with the fear, and the pains and emotions related with

the fear, we looked at the object of the fear, we couldn’t find anything - that is our vision. So

we just realize it’s just the mind is only left. Part One and Part Two we look at our What Is

The Mind? We look at it closely, we couldn’t find anything with the mind. Mind is just

empty. And Part Three we looked so What Is The Emptiness? Emptiness is not just -

Emptiness is not just nothing. It’s just full of Life! Awareness! Emptiness is Clear Light.

And then Part Four, What Is That Clear Light? The answer is Clear Light Is Union. So if

you look at this line Clear Light Is Union – so there’s a two word Clear and Light. Clear

referring to Emptiness, Openness… Light referring to Awareness, Luminosity. And these

two are not a separate quality; neither they are two separate experience. It’s just one

experience. It’s like a wisdom – single wisdom. A single sphere of totality. And it’s very

important to understand that, because many time in our experiences, either you fall into

nihilist, or you fall into eternalist, as many doctrines do that. As many meditator when you

practice you do that. I’ll give a simple example: If you are meditating, abiding in the nature

of mind, abiding in that inner space, there’s two possible obstacles can happen. One, you

fall into nihilist. What does that mean? That means you feel empty. And that Emptiness

produces dullness. It produces lack of life force, Awareness, and it puts you into sleep.

That’s one possible so that’s like you’re falling into nihilist. Or the other possibility is the

moment you sit in the nature of mind, the moment you sit in the meditation of Emptiness,

you become a most creative individual. All the work-related work comes up, your creativity

comes up, your thoughts comes up, your - all the emotions comes up, just basically mind

becomes active than before. Why, when you’re supposed to rest, why would your mind

become so active? Simply because it does not have the experiences of that space. It does

not have connection to that Base. It does not have that connection to that mother, inner

mother. Inner essence. Therefore, it is feeling, facing with all this unenlighted thoughts and

emotions. That is simply happens all the time in our experience. Therefore that is exactly

the reason why it says Clear Light Is Union. Clear Light Is Union. So not only

philosophically they are union or inseparable, but experientially how… that is how one

should experience. So in these stages of development of our practices with the Five-Fold

Teaching of Dawa Gyaltsen, we arrive fourth stage of experience. Where when we sit in

that inner space, we need to have a complete balance of that Openness and Awareness.

Of that Emptiness and that Clarity. So - inseparable state of that Emptiness and Clarity is

very important.

So very briefly, when you are looking - objects of your fear, the visions, you don’t see

anything. Then you look to who is looking, you look at a subject, of ego, you don’t find

anything. Then you look – who is observing? And there’s nothing either. So you

experience a full spaciousness internally. That’s full spaciousness. And you’re fully aware

of that. And that Awareness is no different from that Openness. That Openness is not

different from that Awareness. There’s no separation. It’s inseparable state. And you rest

in that inseparable state without elaborating, without analyzing, judging, anything just simply

you rest in that inseparable state of Openness and Awareness.

Whenever visions are coming, you work with this like Part One’s practice - you watch

the vision. Whenever the subject is kind of taking it over, you ask with the Part Two

practice, What Is The Mind? And then mind will dissolve. And the object will dissolve, and

it will bring you back into that same open Awareness. Inseparable state of that Openness

and Awareness. Just simply rest in there.

As I said earlier, rest for five minute… if you are used to sitting in practice for a

longer time, rest for half an hour, one hour, but always remember that sitting short and clear

is better than sitting long and dull. And it’s important to become familiar with that clear

state. Because, imagine in our ordinary life, how much time we dwell into that stories of fear,

that emotions of fear, how many hours? Consciously, unconsciously, times when we are

aware of it, times when we are not even aware of it, what we still able to dwell into it. So

ability to change habit from that place to resting in that pure inseparable state of Openness

and Awareness, it will require some time and familiarity. So … so anyway the bottom line

here is just simply trying to rest in that inseparable state of Openness and Awareness, as

clear and as long as you can, and repeat that, and trying to become more familiar with that

as much as possible.

Part 7 – Union Is Great Bliss (part 5 of practice)

So this is our last part, the Five-Fold Teachings Of Dawa Gyaltsen; the line is The

Union Is Great Bliss.

And if you look at in our life, and everyday in our life, it makes good sense. Anytime

when we are able to connect, it makes us feel good. When you are able to connect with

yourself, it makes you feel good. When you are able to connect with somebody, it makes

somebody else feels good, and it makes you feel good. People have a relationship – one of

the main point about relationship is trying to make connection… on a physical level, on

emotional level, on a spiritual level, anytime whatever level of connection that you are able

to make, it makes you feel good. The deeper connection you are able to make, the better

feelings are. Less dependent on outer circumstances is. So like many times this is, that’s

very true, if you are in a relationship if you are able to only a physical relationship it’s one

thing. In a spiritual relationship, more heart relationship, it’s another experience. So

connections are fundamental in human life. Childrens cannot properly grow unless there is

a connection of emotion with the parents, particularly connection of love.

So, in the same way, Union Is Great Bliss. The Union is about the connection. So,

with connection, through the connection, arises lot of experiences, lot of experiences.

Beautiful experiences. So the connection between the Openness and Awareness, when

that connection is Awakened, when that connection is familiar, that connection is absolutely

balanced, then quality arises. Otherwise you can, you can think about: well, I can rest in

Emptiness, what’s it going to do to me? How am I going to be happy just resting in

Emptiness? Well just resting in Emptiness might not make you feel happy, but if you’re

resting in inseparable state of Emptiness in a Clear Light, it will make you happy. For

example… the example will be when you feel nothing in your life… people feel lost,

unacknowledged, unwanted, rejections, isolations, when you feel like that – what is feeling

what are you feeling – your feeling a disconnected. Your feeling disconnected with your

family, you’re feeling disconnected with your colleagues, you’re feeling disconnected with

your friends, and you’re isolating yourself, and when that disconnection… when you

become familiar with that disconnection, and when you dwell into it, that’s what - when you

begin to feel pain and depression. In contrary, when you feel connection to that inner

Openness, connection to the Inner Light, and become familiar with that inseparable state, it

will give the birth to hope. It will give the birth to the four immeasurables – ten

prajnaparamitras. It will give the birth to all the countless enlightened qualities.

So, in our own little experiences in meditation in these five parts – remember, we go

back to the first part, we have been working with the fear. You didn’t find the object of fear,

you didn’t find the subject of the fear, you found a Openness, you found a light inside

yourself. You became more familiar with that Openness and Light. And you continuously

rest in that Union, that connection, what will manifest from that place? Hope will manifest.

Because you have been working with the fear. You will manifest joy related to that hope,

because you have been working with the pains related with that fear. It will naturally come.

You just simply have to trust. And reason why I’m saying ‘trust’ was these practices

something that you have never heard of, you have never done in your life, and you don’t…

you just have to trust a little bit before you have the experience. And once you have the

experiences you trust the experience itself, you don’t have to trust or rely on anybody else

explanation. So simply, I think it is important here, to trust in that experience, and rest in

that experience again, experience of inseparable state of Openness and Awareness as

much as possible, and gradually allow - this is the word here – not ‘make’, allow the hope,

allow the joy, allow your inner qualities. Because it.. you are ready to give a birth. You are

ready to transform. You are ready to change. Because you have enough familiarity in that

space of Union Of Openness And Awareness, and the Bliss will come from that place.

So the example, example of Union Is Great Bliss – it’s like a, you know, a vast clear

sky, and a luminous and warm sunshine. The Union of that luminous and warm sunshine

and the vast sky gives birth to a lot of elements. The earth, the water, the fire, all the natural

element come to exist. And from this natural element then imagine like a… fruit trees – and

imagine that clear sky, the warmth of sun, heating to that tree, heating to that fruits, and

gradually, because of that clear sky, because of warmth of the sun, it ripens those fruits.

And then the fruit is the Bliss for those who needs it. So that is kind of the example of it. So

the joy, inner joy is the fruit which has ripened with the warmth of Awareness in that vast

sky.

Part 8 – Conclusion

So this is the last part, the conclusion of Five-Fold Teaching of Dawa Gyaltsen. As

a… I hope that those of you have followed from the beginning till the end, it will make sense.

Those of you just watching this one will probably not make sense. So recommendation is

just go back and watch Part One till the conclusion. But do the practice as much as time it

takes to feel comfortable and feel that you have some result of the practice before you move

to the second part of the practice.

So those of you have done the practice you can see, it’s a benefit of the practice,

really like a feeling much more joy in one’s life, much more meaning in one’s life, and also

finding some solution to come out of the situations that you don’t want to be in, when you

are feeling like a total confused, or feeling a depressions or something like that, you know

that you don’t have to sit there and you have some methods, some means to overcome.

Think about this. Anytime you feel depressed and lost, confused, you just think about this.

You do not you do not have to sit in that place for hours. You don’t have to sit there for

even for one hour. You don’t have to sit there and go to sleep from that place. You don’t

have to. Because you have a practice. And trust the practice. Pray, and do the practice. It

might be harder sometime. But if you trust and keep on it will change for sure. So, I strongly

recommend to you know trust yourself, trust the practice.

As part of the conclusion maybe I will just say a few words. You know we have been

working with the fear, and all the negative emotions, pain and confusions related to the fear.

Of course you don’t have to only work with the fear. Fear is a fundamental emotion which

can underlying, the underlying emotion to all the five poisons. But you can work with any of

the five poisons. For example, let’s give example of working with anger. When you are

really feeling anger, anger has clearly an object. And very often, it is some body. Some

body who have disappointed you. So if you look at that person… that is a vision. And that is

a person that is in your head. Whom you are angry. That person is in your head, that

person is not out there. If that person is out there, then every single person should hate that

person. That’s not the case. Your enemy is the father of somebody. A loving friend of

somebody. And somebody who trusts that person. Somebody who cares about that person.

Somebody who thinks great about that person. Many other people have other kind of

visions to that person. But you happen to have individual karmic vision of that person, and

it’s in your head. So you look at that vision and just say “Vision is a mind.” “Vision is a

mind.” And you internally look at that image. And just simply say “Vision is a mind.”

Exactly the same way we did with the fear, repeat the same thing. You realize that the

person is not there. And it releases something probably in our mind in our brain in our body,

that somehow releases some energy, that you feel much more lighter about that person.

So any emotion is possible to work with. Whenever you work with any emotion,

when it clears the object of that emotion, it clears the subject of emotion, it clears the space,

Openness, it clears Awareness, and it also… you are able to experience the Union of that

Awareness and Openness, then the antidote of that emotion has a better chance to arise.

Like anger really, if it was anger that you were working on, then when you feel there is no

object of anger, when you feel there is no really a subject even who is angry, and you feel

there is a space outside, you feel there is Awareness inside, you feel that you have some

familiarity and connection and realization of that Awareness, and naturally that’s going to

give the birth to love. That means what? That means you will just feel more love. Not love

that you are forcefully trying to have. But the love which effortlessly manifests in the right

moment in the right situation because there’s no blockages there.

So as a conclusion you know I just wanted to say that this is a very precious

teaching. And of course some people might say this is too much to do this in a YouTube.

But every language has limitations, every experience has limitations, and those who are

meant to understand, will understand, those who are meant to not understand it, the Dakini

will keep it secret, and will not understand it… doesn’t matter how much you watch it. And

those who are meant to understand I’m sure you will connect and you will have some

realization and benefit from it. That’s my prayer. Thank you.