74 Ultimate and relative Bodhicitta

Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Bodhisattva Way of Life

Meditation – continue as described yesterday with one meditation on ultimate Bodhicitta and one on relative Bodhicitta.

Continuation of the discussion on transmuting the death process. If have habitual practice of converting adversity into the path then when the final adversity of death arises you will be able to convert that.

During the dying process go back and forth between the meditations on ultimate and relative Bodhicitta.

Discussion of dream yoga as best preparation for the bardo of becoming. Importance of not identifying with body or mind but staying with awareness.

How do you know when your dharma practice is working? When self-grasping gets softer – less frequent and less intense.

Questions:
Is rigpa an individual mind or part of a larger universal mind?
Why are there four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and what are the differences?
Many of the great yogis had families – how were they able to do both?
When you were explaining the 9 stages of shamatha, does it only apply to the practice settling the mind in its natural state?

Meditation starts at: 3:10 (silent, front loaded at start of session)