Overview
This chapter represents the fourth and final part of “pointing out the mind within appearances” in Mahamudra meditation. After establishing that appearances are mind, mind is emptiness, the teacher now points out that emptiness itself is “spontaneous presence” – and that this spontaneous presence is inherently self-liberating.
The Nature of Spontaneous Presence
What is Spontaneous Presence?
- Emptiness is not mere nothingness or blank space
- In the context of appearances: emptiness is the potential for all relative truths to appear – the unity of appearance and emptiness
- In the context of mind: emptiness is the unity of:
- Cognitive lucidity and emptiness
- Awareness and emptiness
- Great bliss and emptiness
Why “Self-Liberation”? Liberation occurs naturally because the very things we need to abandon (kleshas, obscurations) have no real existence. Since they are empty by nature, liberation happens spontaneously rather than through effortful elimination of something real.
The Mechanism of Self-Liberation
Seeing Through Kleshas When practitioners look directly at mental afflictions (attachment, aversion, apathy) or emotional states (delight, misery), they discover these states are empty. This direct seeing naturally pacifies them – not through suppression, but through recognizing their lack of inherent existence.
The Gradual Process However, the text emphasizes this is not instantaneous permanent liberation:
- Seeing emptiness of one klesha once doesn’t prevent its recurrence
- We have “beginningless” habits of entertaining kleshas
- There are fluctuations in our ability to see emptiness clearly
- Continuous cultivation is required
Path Distinctions
Path of Seeing vs. Path of Meditation
- Path of Seeing: Initial direct experience of mind’s nature/dharmata
- Path of Meditation: Ongoing cultivation needed to fully eradicate all kleshas
- The analogy: “Bad habits are like a scroll that rolls itself back up every time we try to unroll it”
Signs of Progress
- “The sign of having heard the dharma is to be peaceful and subdued”
- “The sign of having meditated is to have no kleshas”
- Genuine practice should show measurable reduction in mental afflictions
Practical Guidance
Gradual vs. Dramatic Pointing-Out The author strongly advocates for systematic, gradual instruction over dramatic “pointing-out” experiences, noting:
- Dramatic experiences may lack stability
- They can lead to spiritual arrogance (“I have seen my mind’s nature”)
- Systematic practice with complete texts is more valuable
- Students should have “definite experience” at each stage, not vague approximations
Key Practice Principles
- Mind’s nature is not distant – it’s “right with you”
- Don’t search like “a hunter pursuing deer through dense forest”
- Continue each practice phase until you have clear, unmistakable experience
- Use precise, complete instructions rather than casual approaches
Supplementary Practices
Why Supplements Are Needed Sometimes practitioners cannot rest in mind’s nature, making pure Mahamudra practice temporarily impossible. Supplementary practices make Mahamudra easier and more accessible.
Essential Supplements:
- Preliminary Practices (Ngöndro): Increase renunciation and devotion
- Generation Stage Practices:
- Self-generation: Visualizing oneself as deity to reveal buddha nature
- Front visualization: Recognizing external help from buddhas/bodhisattvas
- Vase generation: Receiving empowerment and blessing
- Guru Yoga: Meditation on root guru or lineage masters
- Blessing manifests as: stable faith, devotion to practice, diminished kleshas, recognition of mundane activities’ pointlessness
- Blessing isn’t necessarily dramatic – it’s indicated by positive mental changes
- Mind Training (Lojong): Including tonglen (giving and receiving) practice
- Six Perfections: Generosity, moral discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, wisdom
- Ethical Conduct: Avoiding ten unvirtuous actions, cultivating ten virtuous actions
Integration and Balance
The Central Point All supplementary practices exist to support Mahamudra realization. As Shantideva taught: “All of these branches were taught by the Sage for the sake of prajna.” The first five perfections lead to the sixth (wisdom).
Mindfulness in Daily Life Practitioners must maintain awareness not just in meditation but in post-meditation periods, continuously cultivating virtue while avoiding harmful actions. This ethical foundation is essential – “it is very hard to realize Mahamudra in the midst of an unvirtuous life.”
Key Insight
The chapter presents a balanced view: while liberation is ultimately spontaneous and natural (because what binds us is empty), the path requires sustained, intelligent effort. The emptiness of kleshas makes liberation possible, but our ingrained habits require patient, systematic cultivation to fully dissolve.