Alan Wallace Fall 2012 Retreat Podcast: Vipashyana, Four Applications Of Mindfulness

Alan elaborates on settling the mind in its natural state. While developing the 3 qualities of shamatha, we are observing external appearances and the (relative) dharmadhatu dissolve into the substrate and our mind (subjective mental events) dissolve into substrate consciousness from the perspective of the substrate or our best approximation thereof. The substrate is the repository of our karma and travels from lifetime to lifetime. Shamatha is sufficient to give us access to the substrate. Meditation: mindfulness of feelings. Let your eyes be open, and rest your gaze vacantly in the space before you. Single-pointedly direct your mindfulness to the space of the mind, resting awareness without distraction and without grasping. If necessary, identify the space of the mind by giving yourself a target—e.g., a discursive thought or a mental image. Introspection checks for rumination, but rather than banishing thoughts, release grasping at the referent. Also, be aware of feelings, including neutral (e.g.