Phoenix
by Dale J. Sprague
White Papers
Flight of the Garuda
by Shabkar Lama, 19th century, compiled and translated by Keith Dowman
The mission of the teachings of Buddhism appears to have two purposes...to remove those who are willing, from samsara, and to refresh samsara for those who are not. While it is taught how to remove one's self and remain detached from samsara, the purpose of meditation is to refresh one's sensations in samsara. Samsara and all it inspires is the summa of existence. Being the summa of existence, what greater mission? than to provide a way to remain out of samsara for those who want it, while providing a means to refresh and enjoy samsara for those who love its daily toil. Either way, enjoyment of samsara is realized. Optimal enjoyment of life is the goal; the flight of the Garuda is its means.
Attaching too strongly to anything in samsara lessens the sensations of life. The Garuda may dive, tumble, fall, or occasionally land and to something clings, but never at the expense of losing its wings.
p.135: "Samaya! Sarva mangalam! Maintain the commitment! May all beings be happy!"
Terms
Buddha: the one taste of dharmakaya.
Dharmakaya: the existential modes of emptiness (zero) and clear light (infinity).
Dharma: principles or laws that order the universe (Hinduism&Buddhism).
Nirvana: for those who want samsara, a temporary state of consciousness where boundaries between one's self and one's environment are non'existent; for those who do not want samsara, a state of existence that transcends the cycle of reincarnation, characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individualistic consciousness.
Samara: the cycle of life and rebirth.
Song 1: The Miraculous Nature of Being
The mind, all embracing, all pervading, neither affecting, nor affected, exists in eternity.
Song 2: The Fundamental Meditation
The nature of the mind is indeterminate.
Song 3: Instruction in the Essential Meditation
While the essential nature of mind is indeterminate emptiness, learn this from experience of searching the origins and dimensions of one's own.
Song 4: Initiation Into the Nature of Mind
The mind, its essence is emptiness, its nature, clarity..its medium, a continuum..its existence, eternal..remains open, unconditional, and utterly un'biased.
Song 5: Admission of Delusion
To perceive anything requires limitation of perception of the general reality and therefore the conceptual world is always delusional with regard to the general reality; being essentially delusional, conceptions always need qualification and context.
Song 6: Initiation Into Our True Existential Condition
paragraph 4: A mystical statement, especially with "It (mind) is not eternal, for nothing whatsoever about it has been proved to exist." If one accepts this statement, one is then initiated into Garuda mysticism. A lifestyle for those who desire nirvana more than samsara. What exists in eternity of the mind, is the zero'infinity faculty. Everything else of the mind has a life based on the half'life of a photon, which is a very long time.
Song 7: Assertion of Intrinsic Buddahood
Be here, now...with mind open and unbiased, the intrinsic Buddhahood mind in all of us will radiate, as it does all the time with the mind of a two'year old child.
Song 8: The Method of Attaining Conviction
With the ability to detach from the appearances of samsara, serving all delusionary attachments, as it were, one attains a state of mind, as needed, whose perceptions effect conviction.
Song 9: Mist, Dream, and Optical Illusion
'What is in mind has no intrinsic weight.' Therefore, figments of the mind are weighted only by one's values attached to them. As one's values change, so does the weight of one's samsara appearances.
Song 10: The Mind'Created Universe
The mind has the power to affirm the existence of all or deny the existence of all; the ability to attach to one's senses or detach; the ability to do both is essential for the affirmation of samsara.
Song 11: The Natural State of Gnostic Freedom
Appearances manifest in infinite variation. What is indivisible is consciousness of infinity and emptiness or zero. Infinity and zero are indivisible and constitute the fundamental element of all appearances in samsara. Awareness of this maintains a natural state of gnostic or spiritual freedom.
Gnostic freedom is also expressed with 'when the lion sleeps with the lamb,' where the lion represents the egocentric mind capable of conceiving infinity (the un'ending), and the lamb represents the sociocentric mind capable of conceiving zero (emptiness). When the 'lion sleeps with the lamb,' both are at equal station with one another and exist co'dominately as a dichotomy of minds. To maintain this co'dominate relationship maximizes spiritual freedom.
Song 12: The Crystal Metaphor and the Dynamic of Being
Un'filtered perception creates a natural radiance of knowledge that manifests in infinite variation within an associated self'defining ever'present space.
Song 13: Instruction in Creative Emotivity
Hatred, envy, avarice, pride..lust, gluttony, and sloth...the seven deadlies are markers, after which queried and examined source, an aspect of one's self that has become isolated and therefore immutable is discovered. Once discovered, context for it may be applied, and once applied, it is no longer isolated; it is no longer immutable and the cause of the seven deadlies. Isolated, one is buried in samsara and has no hope for nirvana.
Song 14: Instruction In the One Taste of Sense-Impressions
Samsara is what it is all about. Existing in eternity, self'awareness is inevitable. Self'aware in samsara inevitably brings happiness and sorrow, pleasure and pain. Dealing with isolation prevents the need to always seek pleasure or pain, and enables one to achieve nirvana when necessary. In this way, one become enriched by samsara, not buried in it. Enriched by samsara, the pleasures and pains naturally balance. In balance, one is at peace with samsara.
Song 15 : The Nonduality of Quiescence and Movement
When one has access to nirvana, one exists in a continuous state of rest or assurance. No matter how turbulent or sublime samsara may be, there is always a place to go, and escape from the pleasures and pains when necessary. And an escape from the gravity of samsara is necessary, lest one becomes caught indefinitely by its gravity, and inevitably lessens its worth.
Song 16: Introduction to Dzokchen-With Cautions
With the mind in a continuous state of rest with the assurance that nirvana can be reached when needed, where the whole of samsara and nirvana exists in eternity is unfounded and a'causal, the vision of Dzokchen has been realized; yet, if conceptualized and identity linked, no values will ever be attained in samsara, afterwhich samsara will hold one in its greatest gravitational grip; one will be in the bowels of samara without any values. In samsara, let things be what they are; conceive of Dzokchen vision, but by it never perceive anything in samsara.
Song 17: Aphoristic Instruction on the Dzokchen Path
Nirvana, where one is freed from all the entanglements of samsara is not a goal, but a temporary sanctuary, a retreat. To avoid the 'unbearable lightness of being,' attainment of nirvana is necessary, as needed. With it, one returns to samsara with values refreshed, as the body returns awake from a good night's rest. And if nirvana is attainable, one's values are automatically refreshed since the shift between samsara and nirvana is un'obstructed, and meditation in action is effected.
Song 18: Obstacles to Dzokchen Practice
Avoid the infinite obstacles to Dzokchen practice where the way between nirvana and samsara are un'obstructed by excepting things in samsara as they are. Strive to perceive them in their own terms. Such perception however, can only be incomplete; with limited perception inherent of its knowledge, only little can be perceived, but any framing of that knowledge in one's own terms takes away what little one has. By maintaining transcendental ego, the realities between samsara and nirvana remain free'flowing, knowledge remains pure. The yoga here, in samsara, is to constantly work to seek the perception of things in its own light. In this way one lives and is alive as much as one can be, which is the summa of existence.
Song 19: The Four Infallible Guiding Stars and the Four Unshakeable Bolts
The four guiding stars are vision, meditation, action, and goal because of their unfailing radiances when purely in the here and now; to be here and now without anchorous past or intimidating future. The guiding stars are also unshakeable bolts because of their permanence and dominance in the past, now, and ever more. Being in the here and now un'self'aware is Dzokchen vision. Un'self'aware vision, meditation, and action is the goal of Buddahood. The goal of learning is to retrieve and learn to access when needed, the buddahood mind, lost as a child.
Song 20: Signs of Nonduality
When there are no distinctions, boundaries, or duality between appearances and emptiness, optimal vision is attained. When there are no boundaries between this life and the next, then the optimal existential condition is attained. Living without self'superimposed boundaries means no conceptualizations to filter perception in the here and now..no non'plus ultras to impair the full sensations of samsara. When there are no impairments, there is no boundary between one's mind and Buddha; the goal is realized.
Song 21: Supportive Exercises and Advice
Samsara is not weak, but powerful. Make attachments too firm to anything in it, then the sensations of it will diminish, from something less than optimal to its utter depths of protracted nothingness, a sense of eternal emptiness. If thoughts of what is divine and what is not, impair..perceive everything as divine. If thoughts of what is life and what is not, impair..perceive everything as alive. In this way, there are no attachments too strong in samsara, no impairments with the sensations of samsara, and the only immutables, zero and infinity, become fundamental elements from which all springs. One acts like a child, spontaneously, fluidly, however the course of one's life may fall, tumble, or flow in, through, or around..ever flowing to its vast sea and sublimating into a new life. Without attachments too binding, one is like the Garuda soaring freely in the sky. Without the wings of the Garuda, attachments to samara shall be suffered as the unbearable lightness of being.
Song 22: Interiorization of the Mandala
With hate, pride, lust, avarice, envy, gluttony, and sloth, the grip is too tight and becomes an impairment to the sensations of samsara. Past and future impinge on the here and now; the sensations of samsara are weakened. As with the eye looking at its object of evil, the evil is within; so are the origins of the seven deadlies.
Song 23: Exteriorization of the Mandala
Grasping too tight anything in life shall lessen the sensation of life. Let it be for what it is, and in return, optimize the sensations of life. Cling too tight to anything, and one shall be tossed and battered by samsara. Let it be for what it is...keep the wings! realize Buddahood in this lifetime; in return, one shall experience life as much as it can be.