Mahamudra: In Search of the Mind (Vipassana)

Translator’s Note

This Mahamudra text, Settling the Triad of Body, Breath, and Mind into a Natural State of Ease, comes from the Shangpa Kagyu tradition. This translation is based on two Tibetan texts: one by the Shangpa master Kusulupa (13th century) and another by Jonang Taranatha (17th century). In translating, I have taken some liberties in interpreting certain Mahamudra terms according to my understanding. This post includes only the second section, which focuses on the Vipassana (insight) meditation.

Note:: This is not intended to serve as a practice manual. It is offered for educational and informational purposes only—though individuals are, of course, free to explore and reflect as they see fit. As someone noted in response to a previous post, an audio teaching on this meditation is available by Kalu Rinpoche on the Shangpa Kagyu website.

Vipassana (Lhag-thong): In Search of the Mind

Initial

Before beginning the practice of searching the mind, the practitioner must first establish a foundation in which the triad of body, breath, and mind are naturally at ease—especially ensuring that the mind is completely free and untethered. Only then can the actual practice of searching for the mind begin.

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Main

Now, with your body, breath, and mind at their natural ease, let your gaze—and your mind—rest in the open space just in front of the point between your eyebrows. Do not direct the mind toward any object, nor turn it inward upon itself. Simply allow the uncontrived mind to remain completely free—without support (no objects) and without fixation (not grasping any object). In this, the mind becomes luminous and nonconceptual, like a sphere of space completely free from obscuration. When your meditation grows steady in this state—free from thoughts and not holding onto any object—

Inquiring into the Essence of Mind

Direct your mind inward—so that the mind is looking at itself. Examine and inquire thoroughly into the nature of the mind: Does it have any shape or form? Any color or identifiable location? Is it made of matter or substance of any kind? Is it completely empty and nonexistent? Or is it a non-material presence—a mere clarity and knowing?

Does the Mind Have Substance?

As you look at the mind, examine whether it is composed of matter. If it appears to be, investigate further: What sort of shape does it have? What color? Observe whether it is located inside or outside the body. If it seems to be inside, look more closely—does it reside in the head, the chest, or the lower body? If it seems to be outside, inquire more deeply—where is it, exactly? Is it in the breath? Is it somehow found in the imputed name? Continue this investigation steadily and thoroughly until you arrive at a clear-cut, experiential understanding.

Is it immaterial?

If it seems to be immaterial and not located anywhere in particular, then ask yourself: Is it truly like nothing at all—like sand scattered in the wind? Or is there a mere presence of luminous awareness but impossible to identify?

Are the Mind and the Appearances of Phenomena Dual or One?

If the nature of mind appears as luminous awareness and unidentifiable, then investigate: Are the mind and the appearances of all phenomena one and the same, or are they two—separate and dual? Continue this inquiry until you arrive at direct certainty that all appearances are nothing other than the mind itself.

For example, when your eyes perceive a form, closely examine the nature of that vividly appearing form. Look more deeply: What is the distinction, if any, between the appearance of the form and the mind that perceives it? Are they truly separate—or are they, in essence, one and the same? In the same way, investigate with the ear as it perceives sounds, and so on with each of the senses.

Are Conceptual Thoughts and the Mind One or Different?

When a conceptual thought arises—such as anger—examine closely: What is the distinction between the thought and the mind itself? Are they truly separate, or are they one and the same in essence? When a thought arises, examine carefully: How does it come into being? Observe the mode of its existence in the space between its arising and its cessation. And when the thought dissolves, examine closely: How does it cease?

Next, examine the difference between the mind at the moment when the eyes perceive a form and the mind when the eyes are not perceiving any form. If there appears to be a difference, reason carefully how that is so. If there appears to be no difference, likewise reason how and why that is the case. Then, in the same way, closely examine whether there is any difference in the mind’s clarity and quality when a thought arises and when no thought is present.

Arriving at the Certainty That All Appearances Are Mind

Come to a decision with certainty that all appearances are none other than the mind itself. As you examine the mind closely, you find nothing that can be identified. Simply allow the mind to rest in that unidentifiable state. Though it cannot be identified, it is not nonexistent; in its emptiness, a myriad of appearances arises. Let your mind rest in that inexpressible, naked-empty-Awareness.

For example, place a vase or any other object in front of you. With the triad of body, breath, and mind settled into their natural state of ease, and with the appropriate gaze, look at the vase without fixation. Do not attempt to eliminate the appearance or vision of the vase. The mind that perceives the vase—free from the obscuration of grasping—and the appearance of the vase itself are indivisible.

Thus it is said:
"Coemergent mind is the Dharmakaya.
Coemergent appearance is the light of Dharmakaya.
The indivisibility of appearance and mind is sahaja—coemergence itself."