Like seeing your shadow

Like seeing your shadow

"This is a key Mahamudra instruction on how to realize coemergent wisdom. "Dissolving upon contact" means that as soon as a thought or emotion arises, you recognize it as the radiance of the dharmakaya, and the thought or emotion is liberated. Thoughts and emotions are simply manifestations of your natural awareness, which, in a way, is actually nothing.

It is is like seeing your shadow. When you recognize that what you see is your shadow, you don't have to do anything about it. It doesn't matter whether your shadow is there or not. Similarly, when you recognize that your thoughts and emotions are the dharmakaya, then you are not bound by them. It doesn't matter if they appear or not. Gampopa uses the analogy of meeting someone you already know. You know who the person is, and you are not suspicious or fearful. I think the shadow is a better analogy, because as soon as you recognize the darkness as your shadow, that's all there is to it. There is no need to relate to it at all."


- Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, "Confusion Arises as Wisdom, Gampopa's Heart Advice on the Path of Mahamudra", Shambhala Publications, 2012, p63

Photo: Ringu Tulku Rinpoche sitting on a bench, Berlin, Germany, April 2014