Fall 2013 Shamatha And The Bodhisattva Way Of Life

The classic, developmental approach is to alternate between ultimate and conventional bodhicitta. It is so important to balance the cultivation of ultimate truth with development of the heart. Another approach is to develop Shamatha, Vippassana, Trekcho (break through) and Togal (crossover). Where is the balance? If you realise rigpa- ultimate bodhicitta, then relative bodhicitta arises spontaneously. Alan then talks on the classical approach to the realisation of emptiness and contrasts this with realising rigpa first before realising emptiness: like being in a dream and developing shamatha, vippassana and then post meditation seeing all appearances as dream like. Then you get pointing out instructions and realise that you are not even conventionally located there. Now viewing that dream from the perspective of one who is awake. But it can happen that there is a breakthrough right there, without a step by step sequence, in an instant. Like becoming lucid in a dream, realise rigpa and by the power of that, s