The Four Erroneous Views on Meditation from the “SAUMOL”

I started the class on May 17, 2020, with a brief overview of what the Supreme and Unsurpassed Mahamudra of Liberation contained and did not contain. I couldn’t post or discuss the actual dharma contained in this great sutra on the internet, because it has not yet been published in English, but I wanted everyone to have some understanding of what the SAUMOL was all about. Over half of those attending the class had at least heard part of the SAUMOL when I read it at various locations in California, Oregon, Utah, and North Carolina and several had participated in several group readings of it. I am still hopeful that it will be posted on the internet before we finish our study of the “128 Views” and we can have serious study sessions on it. Studying the “128 Views” is a good way to prepare for that.

The first erroneous view that we discussed was concerned about thinking it was ok to use the “Shifting-the-Mind Practice to practice meditation. The Buddha Master told us that many famous Buddhists make this mistake, both today and in ancient times. One of the attendees just emailed me his summary of how he understood it:  “…the processes are separate, with different goals and procedures.  The cultivation part is to arouse Bodhicitta off-the-mat  The meditation part is for entering Emptiness on-the-mat.” I would add that the cultivation part is using consciousness–like in “coarse cultivation,” while meditation is to still the mind and develop concentration that transcends consciousness to become “prajna” or true wisdom. As the Buddha Master says, “Only when one is proficient in putting concepts into practice can one turn to meditation practice to cultivate the state of not being attached to anything. From meditation one will enter the practice of concentration. From there one can penetrate deeply into the reality that emptiness and existence are not different and can eventually realize the state of applying usages that arise from Buddha-nature.” Sometimes we call this state “Wonderful-Existence.” That is the state of an enlightened or holy person.

Some of us shared experiences we have had when it seemed you were in that state. I did after a particular empowerment to remove some of my negative karma. When I described what I had felt, the Buddha Master told me I had just experienced a glimpse of the Dharmakaya. I have met many who first became interested in a spiritual path when something like that spontaneously happened to them. Once you have a taste of what life can be like, you always want to regain and stay in that state.

The second erroneous view dealt with mistakenly thinking that sitting meditation is cultivating yourself. CLICK for additional commentary on how meditation relates to the other five paramitas. We also discussed what happens when you see lights or manifestations when your eyes are closed in meditation and whether or not you needed to practice Zen meditation to see your original nature (HINT: You do not).