“…align yourself with that part of you that is already healed, that part that is beyond and transcends illness and wellness altogether.”
Why We Get Ill
Our bodies are conditioned. What that means is that our bodies are part of a larger whole. They are not only influenced by external conditions; they also intimately interact with the physical world.
We tend to see our bodies are separate and autonomous. We are fooled because we can move our bodies to different places, seemingly without influence from other “things” in the environment. For example, I can put my cup down on the table and walk away from it. It seems as if I am separate from the cup. But in subtle ways I am intimately connected to the cup.
Similarly, we seem to be the same person we were yesterday, last week, last year. But we’re not the same. Our bodies are constantly changing and interacting with the environment.
This means that sometimes our bodies will get ill or “dysfunctional” or experience pain.
Rigpa Mind
The good news is that there is a part of us that is never ill, dysfunctional or sick. This part of ourselves is not adversely impacted by negative conditions (or positive for that matter). This part is never affected by hate, anger, illness or sadness.
This is the deepest part of our mind, the deepest part of ourselves. It is known as Rigpa in the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
“Rigpa is clear light, the true nature of our mind. It is the state of pure awareness. It is the wisdom that exists beyond all limitations and through which we can come to know everything.” - Tulku Lobsang Rinpoche.
The idea is to align yourself with that part of you that is already healed, that part that is beyond and transcends illness and wellness altogether; Rigpa mind. Once there, subtle and gross body will also align and resonate with the healed Self.
If physical healing doesn’t happen for you, it doesn’t matter because you are aligned with the part that is beyond illness. The gross body seems just superficial. Your mind will be at ease whether your body is sick or not.
Awareness
So how does one get in touch with or access Rigpa? A clue to how to access Rigpa is in Tulku Lobsang Rinpoche’s quote: Awareness.
You can touch into awareness by being aware. Pretty simple. You become aware of how your body feels. Be aware of the pain you feel, of the discomfort and of the feelings and thoughts that arise because of being in pain or with illness. These feelings can be sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, shame or any other feeling.
Just be aware of your feelings but do not be carried away by them. Don’t get caught up in what you are aware of. Just let whatever arises to arise and watch it.
As you practice awareness, you become more and more aware. Slowly you become the awareness itself.
Compassion
Another way to connect with Rigpa mind is through compassion.
Drubwang Rinpoche says “We talk first about dualistic compassion. Dualistic compassion is seeing someone suffering, therefore you feel compassion. That leads us to the state of ultimate compassion, the compassion of the Buddhas, which is non-referential and beyond duality.”
When we get to ultimate compassion, we are in the Rigpa mind. We start working with compassion as an intention. Then we generate compassion for ourselves and what we are going through. Then we have to expand that starting with ones we love or others we know who are ill. Then we generate compassion for strangers, then enemies, and then all beings.
Meditation
One can use awareness and compassion as we go through our day and that really helps. But meditation is also important.
“The practical training of the Dzogchen path is traditionally, and most simply, described in terms of View, Meditation and Action. To see directly the Absolute state, the Ground of our being is the View; the way of stabilising that view, and making it an unbroken experience is Meditation; and integrating the View into our entire reality, and life, is what is meant by Action” - Sogyal Rinpcohe
Shamatha and vipassana meditation are often recommended and a good place to start. One can also do compassion meditation such as the Four Immeasurables or Tonglen.
Tantric Meditation
One can do awareness meditation or compassion meditation alternately. But “the union of these [awareness and compassion] is enlightenment” - Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
With tantra we can meditate on both awareness and compassion at the same time making it a fast and effective method.
Dr. Alexander Berzin puts it this way: “That uncommon method – not shared with sutra – is to imagine that we have the form of a Buddha Body, which obviously is a closer cause to having an actual body of a Buddha, with which we help others with our compassion, love and bodhichitta. So, this is method here….. So, in general tantra, we focus on voidness [awareness] while having the body of a Buddha-figure and, in that way, we have method and wisdom together in one moment of mental activity.”
In healing tantras, we become the enlightened Healing Buddha. As Dr. Nida often says once you become the Healing Buddha made of light, you are not sick, ill or in pain. You are made of light and already healed. This is the tantric path that allows us to access that part of ourselves that is already healed, the state of unconditional health.
For more on healing with tantric meditation check out this blog: Tibetan Healing Meditation 101.
You can also explore more of these meditations and techniques at healingbuddhahermitage.org.
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