Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Editor’s note: Meditation master Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche shares practical instructions for those interested in the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Mahamudra, which investigates the true nature of mind. He offers simple instructions and exercises for the reader to explore the practice in this companion volume to Clarifying the Natural State by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal.
The customary attitude is that thinking of something and being free of thought are entirely different states. We tend to prefer one state over the other, but training in Mahamudra is to go beyond this. When feeling quiet, look into what it is that feels tranquil: What is it that knows this calm? What is the very identity of this state? What is it made out of? Look into what the very quality of stillness is. Then, when a thought moves, rather than taking for granted that there is some thinker, something thought of and an act of thinking, look into what those aspects actually are. Where did the thought come from and where does the movement of thought occur? What is its nature? How is it different from the quietness?
Let’s question the vague assumption that there is a big difference between our mind while quiet and while thinking. It seems obvious that when quiet, there is no thinking, and when we are thinking then there is no quietness any more. But we should now investigate whether or not there is an actual difference in substance between the two—not superficially, but in reality. Is one good and superior, and the other evil or inferior? Is one empty and the other not? What exactly is going on? When we look directly into the nature of the calm mind and then the mind in motion, we discover that there is no real difference in quality between the two. They are both empty and intangible. The identity of the quietness is not identifiable; there is nothing to grasp; and when looking into the thinking mind, you are unable to pinpoint any real thinker, any concrete object that is being thought of or a tangible act of thinking. In this way, we find that there is no real difference between these two states. They are essentially alike, as they are both intangible. Even then, we should again look into exactly what this identical nature consists of. Are they really identical in nature? Or is it merely that they are similar and there is still some difference?
