སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་གསང་སྔགས་བསྟན་འཛིན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། སློབ་ཁྲིད། རྫོགས་ཆེན་གྱི་སྲོལ་གྱི་སྒོམ་སྒྲུབ།

[Tibetan prayer] Rubarta Janjinto Borasha Under Trendalaya.

Just dun means the danger design khatanyam be jikantas dandru ganji pande The Jin DVN thought to Toparas.

Uh, Dungasimjov, Karvaj Vatami, uh, Chutanza Janj Oh Lam Swatani.

I address all of you. I greet all of you. Many thanks to all the organizers. And to all of you who have joined our meeting today.

Today we will speak on the theme of meditation. I was asked to explain how meditation is practiced in the Dzogchen tradition.

And as for meditation, first we receive instruction, we listen to, we hear instruction on meditation, we reflect, and in the end we take up meditation. And thus there are three practices: listening, reflection, and meditation.

This is the general sequence of practice.

As for listening and reflection, they are meant to enable us to meditate successfully, to use this knowledge in meditation. We listen to the upadesha instructions and reflect on their meaning so that in the end we may master this knowledge through our own meditative experience. Thus the practices of listening, reflection, and meditation are interconnected. Listening and reflection are done precisely for practice, for meditation. There is no theme that we would hear and then set aside; there is no theme we would reflect on and then leave unused in our practice.

And meditation.

We practice meditation for the sake of a certain goal. Of course, each of us has a goal. And we meditate because it brings benefit. What benefit does meditation bring? Through such practice we gain many virtues, many merits, and in our time especially our society greatly needs such a method as contemplation, as meditation, because it is a profound method through which we gain happiness, calm, peace.

And through meditation we gain . wealth. Inner, spiritual wealth.

Of course, in our time the word "wealth" is associated with material affluence. But along with bodily well-being, with physical health, we also need inner wealth.

And many people, though they live a happy, successful life, very many people feel unhappy within themselves. This is a new kind of need that has appeared in our time. This is a new kind of poverty — spiritual poverty, inner poverty. [Tibetan verse] So we go capture mention. But the thoughtamjilla tini the ni m t ni And all people, whatever their level of prosperity, all people desire happiness, and all desire to overcome their suffering. And physical well-being, material goods do not quite help us attain inner well-being, balance, inner balance.

So one can say that in our time, despite all technological development, all material development, very many people still remain poor within, experiencing spiritual poverty, inner poverty. But peace, calm, happiness, openness — this is all that each of us strives for. Inner comfort.

This all constitutes inner wealth, wealth of the soul.

Many people are materially rich.

And these people have no problems concerning shelter, food, and the means of subsistence, yet nonetheless everyone knows that we all encounter problems, including rich people. And here meditation helps us very greatly. Meditation helps to calm one's mind, to bring it to balance, to attain happiness.

And in the Dharma, one who practices the Dharma calls such an inner state an open, happy mind. An open, happy mind is attained through meditation. In order to meditate, we first receive instructions. We hear the instructions, reflect on their meaning, and then apply this knowledge in practice. And then gradually our inner calm, happiness, well-being is strengthened, reinforced, and thus we come to an open, happy mind. [Tibetan verse] This is that open mind.

It is inner comfort, mental comfort. However we may designate this state, it is one and the same.

Any person can attain this state. To come to such inner peace of soul, to openness, through meditation.

It does not matter to what class a person belongs, what place he holds in society; a person may be rich or poor. All people can practice meditation. And meditation leads to calm.

[Tibetan verse] Happiness, well-being is within us. Yet we tend to seek it somewhere in the outer world. People who experience material need and seek happiness outside think that if one becomes rich, that can solve all questions. Rich people, in turn, think that if they were to change places with others, they would be rid of their problems, but this is not so.

Вот и соре.

This shows that happiness, calm, harmony — these things are in our mind, they are not in the outer world. And to cultivate inner happiness, we must make effort, because simply by hearing instructions, simply by attending teachings, we will not be able to attain this happiness, well-being, calm. If you think it is enough simply to hear an instruction, to reflect on it for some time, then that is not enough. It is necessary again and again in practice to master these states, to strengthen, to reinforce these states.

You can see how people who practice the Dharma, when faced with problems, lose courage, strength of spirit, lose their presence of mind. This happens because people think that happiness can be attained with little effort.

Thus it is not enough simply to receive advice, to hear instructions, and then set them aside, not putting them into practice. In that case we will not attain happiness and well-being.

It is important to apply knowledge in practice, to meditate, and then our efforts will be meaningful.

On the whole, meditation brings us great good, great benefit. As I said, it is precisely through meditation that we lay the foundation of our inner wealth, of our inner well-being. In our time our life on the whole is comfortable. Most of us live, on the whole, comfortably. We enjoy material goods, we enjoy the goods that technological development provides, but along with this it is important also to give rise to inner wealth. And, as I said, in our time many people who neglect this, despite outer well-being, remain within themselves poor, destitute, needy. This is a new kind of poverty.

A new kind of inner, spiritual poverty, which has manifested in a special way in our time.

These are the new destitute people who do not look within themselves and neglect the inner. So it is important to practice meditation in order not to be such needy, such destitute people in a spiritual sense. And as for meditation, meditation is divided into the beginning — the preparation, the main part, and the concluding part. There are three parts of meditation. In everything you do, these three stages can also be discerned. Whatever you do, first you carry out preparatory actions, then you perform .

the action itself, and at the end you finish. And in a similar way meditation too begins with certain steps. And in the context of Buddhist practice, especially if we speak of the practice of the Mahayana, the Great Vehicle.

And in this, no matter whether you are meditating, or doing another practice, or simply hearing teachings, instructions. It is very important first to give rise to renunciation, because renunciation is the foundation of your whole practice. And secondly, as a preparatory action you must give rise to bodhicitta. Because the main part must necessarily be accompanied by bodhicitta. And thus, no matter what practice you do, it may be hearing teachings, it may be meditation. In any case, first it is important to give rise to the spirit of renunciation and then to cultivate bodhicitta.

And as for renunciation, many people understand it in a mistaken way. They think that renunciation is when we give up everything around us. Renunciation is when we leave our home, give up family, loved ones. But this is not so, this is a false understanding of renunciation.

If you leave your home, leave your usual occupations, withdraw into yourself, this is a false understanding of renunciation. True renunciation lies in the wish to be rid of grasping. True renunciation is the wish to overcome suffering. It is precisely this wish that is genuine renunciation. [Tibetan verse] Whatever practice you do, your practice must have a firm foundation. And the spirit of renunciation, the thought of renunciation, is just such a foundation, a basis for your practice.

And then we cultivate bodhicitta.

All sentient beings are alike in that we all do not wish for suffering, we all wish for happiness, and you must be able to put yourself in others' place. And, reflecting in this way, we contemplate all sentient beings, recognizing their innermost wish to be happy and to be free from suffering, and we cultivate bodhicitta.

And thus, through renunciation and through bodhicitta we enter the state of meditation.

And when we engage directly in meditation, there are certain things that will hinder us. These are obstacles. Or, in other words, these are the five stumbling blocks that will lead us away from meditation.

Anyone who takes up the practice of meditation must know these five stumbling blocks. Five things that hinder concentration.

Therefore it is important to recognize, to be aware of these obstacles, because when you meditate, they will in any case visit you at first. You will encounter them.

And the five stumbling blocks, the five obstacles — these are such things as laziness and the like. We must know their enumeration, their list, because we must cast off these five things, and when we are free of them, then our meditation will be flawless. Our meditation will be carried out in the right course, in the right way.

Since this is an introductory lecture, I would like to set out these five obstacles. The first is laziness. The second is forgetting the instructions. The third is the dullness of the mind and agitation. The fourth — the non-application of the antidote. And the fifth — the application of the antidote when there is no need for it.

Thus there are five obstacles that hinder concentration, samadhi.

The first obstacle is laziness, the unwillingness to meditate.

If you are too lazy to meditate, then of course our practice will be unsuccessful.

If you are dishonest with yourself, if you feel laziness and indulge laziness, then you are dishonest, you show dishonesty toward yourself.

Because of such idleness, such laziness, you will not be able to meditate. This is the first obstacle that must be uprooted. The second is forgetting the instructions. Many masters, teachers have given us various instructions concerning meditation, have described in detail how one must meditate. And if, having heard these instructions, we then forget them, then our meditation too will be unsuccessful. Therefore it is very important, having heard the instructions, to remember these instructions.

If you have already received an instruction, you need . at once to accustom yourself to the meaning of these instructions through practice. Otherwise you will forget about it, you will forget about these instructions.

And this is the second obstacle, when we receive instructions, explanations concerning the practice of meditation, but do not apply them in practice, forget about them. And there are various instructions concerning meditation. These may be the upadesha of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, these may be instructions of other traditions.

If you approach your practice without seriousness, lose all these instructions, forget about them, then you will not be able to meditate. Thus the first two obstacles are laziness and forgetting the instructions. These two kinds of obstacles hinder the preparatory actions of meditation. As I said, the practice of meditation consists of three stages: preparation, the main part, and the conclusion. Laziness and forgetting the instructions hinder at the stage of preparation.

Thus you must know that these obstacles you will encounter before you sit down in the meditation posture.

At the initial stage one can already encounter laziness, idleness, forgetting the instructions.

You must understand that laziness and forgetting the instructions constitute the initial obstacles that we must get rid of. They hinder already at the preparatory stage, at the initial stage. And then, when you engage directly in meditation, dullness of the mind and agitation may hinder you.

Dullness of the mind is when you meditate and feel an inner mental sluggishness, your mind is deprived of clarity. Your mind falls, as it were, into a drowsy state. You fall, as it were, into hibernation. This is dullness of the mind. As for agitation, it is when the mind is distracted by outer objects, by external objects.

In short, they hinder us not only during meditation, but also when you listen to teachings. When you are at a lecture, you may either fall asleep, or feel an inner sluggishness, or else may think about extraneous things and not listen to the lecture. And likewise during meditation you may adopt the corresponding posture. Outwardly you will resemble a meditating person, but within, your mind may go wandering somewhere in the outer world. Or else within you may fall into a drowsy state, into a sluggish state. And thus, during meditation, sluggishness and agitation are obstacles that may arise. During the action itself we must eliminate them.

Through mindfulness and vigilance we notice the slightest deviation of thought from the object. We notice dullness of thought, sluggishness, we notice agitation of thoughts and cut them off. And thus, during the main part of practice, during the actual meditation, we must rid ourselves of them.

Dullness of thought and agitation create a veil, create a screen, because of which we cannot concentrate on the original object. Our mind is like the sky, the pure clear sky, and sometimes clouds, masses of cloud, conceal the sky.

Dullness of the mind and agitation are like such clouds that conceal the face of the sky.

Thus, at the initial stage, laziness and forgetting the instructions may hinder us. During the meditation itself, dullness of the mind and agitation may hinder. And then, when we have meditated for a long time, at the end such things may hinder us as using the antidote when there is no need for it, and not using the antidote when there is need for it. And a very important point is that we must follow the middle approach. We must skillfully harmonize these two states, because if we use the antidote excessively, this will lead to our being distracted. This will give rise to, will multiply conceptual constructions.

Therefore we must know that, in applying the antidote, we must be careful, to apply it in moderate measure.

And if we entirely abandon this, entirely abandon the application of the antidote, this too will hinder meditation. This will hinder our being able to continue our meditative experience.

[Tibetan verse] It is important to know that meditation is a stream, a continuing stream. And if we do not learn to approach this matter skillfully — when to apply the antidote and when to refrain from it, the stream of meditation will be interrupted. We will not be able to preserve the integrity of this stream.

Using the antidote when there is no need, and not using the antidote when there is a need — this is the last obstacle that awaits the meditator.

And let me repeat once more: at first, laziness, the unwillingness to meditate, and forgetting the instructions may hinder us. During the meditation itself, dullness of the mind and agitation may hinder us. We must eliminate them. And at the end we must learn to use the antidotes correctly. If one resorts to the antidotes too strongly, if our concentration is excessively strong, this will not help concentration. Engaging in meditation is like tuning a lute.

If the strings are stretched too tight, they will snap. And likewise, if we too strongly apply effort, use the antidote too excessively, then this will hinder meditation.

And likewise, if the strings are not stretched tightly enough, we will not get a good sound. And likewise, if you treat meditation carelessly, do not apply the antidotes at all and allow your mind to remain in its ordinary state, then you will not notice how you again engage in your habitual things, but not in meditation. Thus, two obstacles at the beginning — laziness and forgetting the instructions; one obstacle in the middle — this is dullness of thought, sluggishness, and agitation; and at the end two obstacles — applying the antidote when there is no need, and refraining from it when there is a need to apply the antidote.

And it is very important that you practice meditation over a long period of time.

And for this it is important, as I said at the outset, to cut off laziness and to receive genuine, authentic instructions.

As for the antidote to laziness, here mindfulness and vigilance will help. Sometimes people do not notice how they fall into laziness, begin to be lazy, to behave idly. It is necessary to notice this through mindfulness and vigilance. [Tibetan verse] Карзанатыни, гом джамни, карса натыни не трохи губерес. And you must also know that meditation should not be the final goal of your quest. It is not enough simply to be able to meditate. It is not enough simply to concentrate on an object.

It is important that meditation become a means of liberation.

Therefore the Dzogchen masters say that meditation must be filled with the methods of liberation. Otherwise, in the contrary case, what is the use if we are able, over a long time, . to concentrate on this or that object, if it does not lead to liberation.

And as for meditation, it is necessary to apply the five powers. [Tibetan verse] Hakko Hakko Sarvig Jackson, Tobati Jilatina, and I think that's a good thing. I will set out the list of these five powers. One must remember this list, because they will help us develop in meditation.

And, in general, why do we meditate? In order to liberate ourselves.

Simple knowledge of the basics of meditation, of the techniques of meditation, of techniques of concentration will not help.

It will not help to be rid of the afflictions, will not help to be liberated; therefore meditation filled with the five powers will without fail lead to liberation.

The first power that helps meditation is the power of listening to instructions.

If you meditate as you please, and do not rely on correct teachings, then you will achieve nothing; therefore one must possess the power. A power is a capacity; that is, by hearing instruction you gain a capacity.

[Tibetan verse] Thus, the first power is listening to instructions. This is a very important component of our practice. You may practice shamatha, you may practice contemplative practices, you may practice the generation of bodhicitta, or practice.

For example, in Dzogchen there are many upadesha concerning abiding in the nature of mind. Whatever practice you do, first it is necessary to become acquainted with it through listening to instructions.

By receiving instruction, you create within yourself a treasury.

You are enriched with various upadesha, instructions, which will serve as your inner wealth.

Therefore the first power is listening. And even when you engage in meditation, you are not engaged in some abstract activity. In fact, when you meditate, you ponder the meaning of the instructions that you receive from the guru. [Tibetan verse] Тупа самбасарватени. And the second power — is reflection on the instructions.

Because simply to hear is also not enough, unfortunately.

If you listen and listen and yet do not ponder the meaning of all these things, then you will not gain the second power.

First we hear the instructions, and secondly we reflect on the meaning of the instructions heard. We reflect on the words that we received in the course of the instructions.

Thus, the first power is the power of hearing instructions, the second is the power of reflection.

The third and fourth powers are the cultivation of mindfulness and vigilance. I think that many of you already know these terms. The third and fourth powers are mindfulness and vigilance. Mindfulness is an important thing for meditation. Without it, of course, we will not be able to concentrate.

Because during meditation we must not deviate from the chosen object. But if we have insufficient mindfulness, attentiveness, then our mind will be distracted all the time.

Concentration will fall into decline, and mindfulness, in turn, relies on vigilance, the fourth power. When we lose mindfulness, when it weakens, vigilance must notice this at once. Vigilance must prompt us: "Oh, you are not meditating now, you have been distracted."

It is precisely vigilance that catches this state, catches that moment when mindfulness loses its sharpness.

Thus, the third power is the power of mindfulness, the fourth is the power of vigilance.

We must understand that without them, without attentiveness, without vigilance, we will also achieve nothing in the practice of meditation.

Therefore we must without fail rely on them.

The fifth is the power of diligence.

If we do not have sufficient effort, if we do not apply enough effort and meditate only from time to time, then of course we will not succeed in this. However many instructions you receive, precious instructions, yet if you are not diligent in your practice, you will achieve nothing.

Therefore such accompanying factors as effort, the applying of effort, diligence, as well as the other preceding powers, help us to meditate.

The effort we apply, the diligence we show, helps us to bring the matter to completion.

Therefore the fifth power is precisely the power of diligence.

To these five powers also is added a sixth power — the power of full familiarization, the power of full habituation, of full acclimatization.

We must accustom ourselves to what we are doing. . When you practice meditation, this is a certain action. You must, over a long time, . draw yourself nearer, accustom yourself to this action, so that this action becomes fully habitual for you.

[Tibetan verse] This power is like the opening of a book.

If a book is before you and it is closed, you may look at it as long as you like, but you will not understand what is written in it. And likewise you open yourself to meditation through the sixth power — the power of full familiarization, the power of full habituation of yourself to such an action as meditation.

And full habituation is a state, a trait of the mind, which you attain in the course of repeated training.

Thus, practicing the Dharma, bodhicitta, recognizing the face of the original state, rigpa, whatever you do — it may even not be the practice of the Dharma, it may be a simple walk.

If you are not used to walking, then you will go out far more rarely. Thus, it is necessary to accustom oneself to these things, to accustom oneself consciously.

To be diligent, as Shantideva said: diligence, genuine diligence, is joyful engagement in wholesome practice.

And when you practice meditation, fully accustom yourself to it, grow familiar with this action, show diligence in this practice — this means that you find joy in these practices.

These practices in no way burden you. This is what Shantideva spoke of. [Tibetan verse] Shantideva was one of the outstanding pandits, the masters of the monastery of Nalanda. And he led a very simple life.

At first glance, his contemporaries, the monks who then lived at Nalanda, wished to expel him from Nalanda, because they thought that Shantideva was a very lazy practitioner, and they nicknamed Shantideva bhusuku, that is, a person who is only able to sleep, eat, and relieve himself. But this was all at the outer level. Shantideva abided in the state of practicing the Dharma both day and night. It may seem that he was engaged in quite ordinary things, but in his mind he was engaged in the practice of the Dharma.

And this he achieved because he applied effort in order to reach this. He accustomed himself methodically.

And thus . the life of Shantideva, the very life of Shantideva, shows that we must acquire these powers — the power of diligence, the power of full habituation. And Shantideva also said that there are no things to which one cannot accustom oneself. Anything that at first seems difficult to do, if we accustom ourselves to it, will in the end become easy to accomplish.

And thus, if we, cultivating all these powers, meditate methodically, in the end meditation will become easy for us. Вот сна.

Perhaps you have some questions. I have set out the five obstacles that hinder meditation, as well as the five powers that help us to meditate.

According to some sources, six powers.

The power of listening, reflection, mindfulness, vigilance — these are the first four powers. The fifth power is the power of diligence, and the sixth power is the power of familiarization, of habituation.

If we have these powers, then our meditation will be successful.

And yeah, the control. Вот у тебя картена юри.

And now let us meditate for a while. Five minutes.

Let us all meditate together. Remember all these obstacles that I spoke of above, the five obstacles.

And during meditation — it is said that we adopt the seven-point posture of Vairochana. I think many of you are already familiar with it. I can . acquaint you with it briefly.

We cross the legs in the vajra posture, straighten the spine. We join the palms at the level of the navel.

We bend the neck, the head, slightly forward.

The tip of the tongue touches the upper palate, and the gaze is directed downward along the line of the tip of the nose. Take such a posture, and let us meditate.

After this we let me answer your questions. How many hours a day should one meditate? [Tibetan verse] Алла Шаматигла Тюдзе Казуринг Гум Гогена.

It is said that if we are only taking the first steps in meditation, then we should make the sessions very short, but increase the number of sessions. That is, you meditate for a very short time, and the number of attempts should be large. That is, you make many attempts, and each attempt should be short. Or, to put it another way, you should meditate for a very short time and yet make many sittings, many attempts. At first it is very important to gain experience, and in fact at first you are simply gaining experience; you should examine whether you are distracted during meditation or not. In order not to tire too much, at first the duration of each meditation sitting should be short.

The sittings themselves, or attempts to meditate, can be made more numerous. The next question. I have read that the true nature of mind manifests in the instant between the inbreath and the outbreath. Is this a literary metaphor or a real meditation?

Yes, one can say that this is the real state of affairs, if a person has the corresponding experience. For example, an experienced Dzogchen practitioner, a person who already has the vision, the recognition of the true nature of rigpa, who already has this experience, who is able to settle in it, to abide in this state — such a person can see, between the inbreath and the outbreath, in that interval, the true nature of mind. Of course, this depends on experience. And here, I think, one cannot give a single definite answer. One cannot say that it is just a metaphor, one cannot say that it is a real meditation. It will depend on the person.

If a person has no experience, if a person has not received upadesha, instructions, has no experience connected with the recognition of rigpa, then the true nature of mind may manifest in the interval between the inbreath and the outbreath, but a person without experience simply will not notice it. The next question. How does one develop the power of mindfulness?

In order to develop the power of mindfulness, we need to meditate. Mindfulness develops together with meditation. If one does not practice, if one does nothing at all, we will achieve neither meditation, nor will the power of mindfulness develop, nor anything else. By making attempts, each time applying diligence, showing diligence, meditating, we each time gradually develop our power of mindfulness. And when you receive an instruction, reflect on its meaning, reflect on the words, then at that moment too one can say that such practice is part of the development of mindfulness. You hold your attention on a certain object, on this instruction, on the meaning of this instruction.

And the longer you succeed in this, the stronger your mindfulness. And as for Dzogchen practitioners who are able to settle for a long time in that stream of the state in which the practitioner recognizes, sees, recognizes the true essence of rigpa — these practitioners, already by their abiding in this state, develop mindfulness; that is, their abiding in this state develops mindfulness. Mindfulness sustains this state, and thus the power of mindfulness is naturally strengthened each time we meditate. A person hears poorly — how to improve the power of listening?

When we speak of the power of listening, this usually means that we receive instructions from the guru, from the master, and try to remember these instructions. We listen all the time, we receive these instructions. And in this, if you have, for example, poor hearing, you will still have some way to receive these instructions. After you have received them, again and again return to these instructions in your mind. This will also resemble . the power of listening.

That is, people listen to the instruction, while you again and again return to these instructions in your mind. And also within you cultivate or develop purity, clarity of mind toward this teacher, toward these instructions. Or, in other words, you cultivate faith. This faith also helps very greatly, and in this case too it will help to turn inner listening into the power of listening. How does Dzogchen meditation differ from the meditation of Sutrayana and Vajrayana?

As for meditation, it is like a multi-story building. There is the meditation of the sutra, there is the meditation of the level of the tantra. For example, the meditation of the sutra is reflection on the selflessness of phenomena, reflection on the emptiness of all phenomena. It may be the cultivation of bodhicitta and the like. This is the meditation of the sutra. As for the meditation of the tantra, it is the various practices of the level of the generation stage, the completion stage.

And as for Dzogchen, it has its own special path, which is called trekchö — complete cutting through, and tögal — the immediate crossing. And also in Dzogchen there exist many special meditations connected with the recognition of the true face of rigpa, and thus one can say that each meditation is unique, yet there are various stages, levels of this whole building that we designate by the word "contemplation," "meditation." Do you think it possible that I obtained the vision of natural presence through the text of Longchen Rabjam, "The Precious Treasury of the Dharmadhatu"? [Tibetan verse] That is that tiny cause of the Monthropor Shala. Uh Tani Lamitamak any repa want to buy your rest, no?

It is said that we first receive instruction from a teacher, from a master. And these words point directly to the fact that we must rely on a teacher, having received instruction. And then, correctly putting into practice this or that practice, we in the end attain the needed realizations. And when we read books, read books on our own, look at certain things on the internet, then, of course, in the course of such activities we often gain a certain understanding, and sometimes we may mistakenly identify such understanding with genuine spiritual experience. A certain strong insight may visit you. You may think that you already realize something, but in fact we must without fail rely on a spiritual teacher, on a master, having received instruction from him.

The upadesha, the secret oral instructions, we must then put into practice, meditate, gain experience, and in the end we will attain, will gain realizations. And therefore it is necessary without fail to rely on a spiritual teacher. Can one practice Dzogchen, bypassing the sutra and the tantra?

Of course, there are people who can at once, in this life, accomplish the instructions of the Dzogchen level. But these people, as a rule, in past lives, over many lives, have already laid a sufficiently firm foundation to live, in this life, a final embodiment, and then be liberated. But such people are very few. And we must understand that these people who in this life naturally, as if spontaneously, attain liberation, bypassing the sutra, the tantra — such people may exist, but these people, in order to reach this, labored very much in past lives. Therefore in any case we must go by the reliable path, which consists of the practice of listening, reflection, and meditation. And as for Dzogchen, Dzogchen is an integral teaching that within itself also includes the sutra and the tantra.

For example, many texts, many works on Dzogchen, on the Great Perfection, such as "Resting in the Nature of Mind," which Longchenpa composed — the instructions given in them already contain practices of the level of the sutra and the tantra. And therefore it is important to remember that Dzogchen is an all-embracing, integral teaching. The next question. Does the practice of taking refuge differ in the Dzogchen tradition and in the tantra? [Tibetan verse] On the whole, I think that taking refuge in Dzogchen and in the tantra resemble one another. But in Dzogchen, for example, when we take refuge, there is the ground, the manifestation, and the secret level.

On the level of the ground we take refuge in the Three Jewels. On the level of manifestation we take refuge in the three roots. And on the level of the secret aspect we take refuge in the three awakened bodies, in the three enlightened bodies. And therefore I think that, on the whole, taking refuge in the Dzogchen tradition and in the tantra have similar features, but in Dzogchen it is as I said: for example, the three roots are the taking of refuge in the lama, the yidam, and in the dakini. And as for the fundamental state in which we take refuge, it is the certainty that the object of refuge is all-embracing; that is, one object of refuge holds within itself all the enlightened qualities of the other objects. Rinpoche, please, what does meditation on the tip of the nose give?

Thank you.

When we speak of one-pointed meditation, then .

the gaze lowered downward along the line of the tip of the nose — such a gaze helps us not to be distracted. Consider: when we try to concentrate, and our eyes are open, since we still have little capacity, the ability to concentrate is not so strong, then open eyes will give more factors for distraction. Here you are meditating, you are in a meditative state, you are concentrating, your eyes are open. And since various things will be visible before you, these things will prompt various thoughts. And when various thoughts arise in your head, they will distract you. When we do such a meditation of one-pointed concentration, so that we have fewer distracting factors, we lower the gaze downward, to shield ourselves at the initial stage from disturbing, distracting things, for better concentration.

What is the meaning of the Tibetan word that is usually translated into Russian as "faith"? It always seems that the literal rendering into Russian does not quite convey the meaning.

On the whole, faith is, on the one hand, trust, devotion. And when we speak of faith, usually three kinds are distinguished. These are: faith proper, as trust, devotion, inclination. Secondly, faith as clarity, purity of mind, and, thirdly, faith as aspiration, the wish to attain something. Three kinds of faith are distinguished. And in any case, the basis of all these states is constancy, devotion, indestructibility. This is what faith is.

[Tibetan verse] Many thanks to all. Let me at the end read the words of the dedication of merit, and with this we will conclude today's meeting. [Tibetan prayer] Jugana Jebalaan J Bai Chival Makalam Tir Sadamja me compagni to jornand.

Many thanks to all. See you in a week.