Summary: Episode Description: In this session after the morning break, Tsoknyi Rinpoche continues his discussion of shamatha practice. He states that in order to do shamatha meditation one needs calm, clear, though free and in nowness. By continuing to practice, you will eventually experience this point. He describes a state of effortful mindfulness where in one must be very careful to have not too much, nor too little effort. In addition there are two fundamental ways of doing this practice: with the senses "open" or with the senses "closed." Rinpoche suggests that it is probably best to learn with senses open at first focusing on an object and later without. It is possible to learn shamatha using anything as an object of one's attention, but recommended to use the breath as the breath is neutral. Continuing to develop, one will let go of focusing on the breath and focus on the nowness. Rinpoche then offers a discussion regarding the difference between knowing and thought. And concludes the session by addressing a number of questions from the audience. For Series Description and teacher BIO, please see Part 1. To access the entire series, please click on the link below: Dzogchen and Zen Series: All 8 Parts
