49 Settling the mind in its natural state, part 1

Alan begins by giving examples of how one could experience the substrate directly before achieving shamatha. As with emptiness and rigpa, such direct experiences of the substrate are veiled by concepts. As such, the first quality of the substrate to strive for is non-conceptuality. Reminder: the core practice is to attend to mental phenomena without distraction, without grasping. Guided meditation (17:55) starting with focusing one’s attention on the visual, the auditory, and the tactile before moving on to the mental. Alan explains the meaning behind snapping his fingers before sitting down. Questions (43:07): Q1) At what stage can vipashyana be integrated with shamatha? Q2) At advanced stages of shamatha, breathing gets less frequent, stopping for periods at a time. What are the 4 immeasurables good for then? Q3) Developing buddhanature according to dzogchen. Q4) What’s the difference between buddhist teachings and buddhism in the highest levels of shamatha? Q5) Can we experience the substrate consciousness in various states like sleep? Q6) What is resistance to samadhi that one encounters through stage 5? Q7) Is the clear light of death the same as rigpa? Q8) Please elaborate on the term appearances in the expression „taking appearances and awareness as the path“ Q9) What are some physiological reasons for keeping the eyes open during meditation?