44.
Opening to the infinite, primordial depth of the earth
Session One: An Introduction to
This Training Series
1. Introduction to Session One
2. The innermost heart of the dharma
3. Seeing the miracle and meaning in everything
that appears
4. Mahamudra is a golden key that opens the full depth
of our human life
5. Trust in the unfolding journey
6. The Tibetan tradition
7. Practicing the depth of the Mahamudra without the
constraints of Tibetan culture
8. The opportunity for study and practice that we have as
modern people
9. The imperative behind the creation of this program
10. How to work with this Mahamudra training program
11. “To fly like this”
Session Two: The Basic Process
12. Introduction to Session Two
13. The Mahamudra is a Vajrayana practice
14. Open awareness or “the natural state”
15. We begin with touching the basic nature
16. Pure perception and the sacred world
17. Becoming a true person—an unprecedented, unique,
unfolding process
This Mahamudra Lineage
18. Exploring the authenticity of this Mahamudra lineage
19. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his commitment to
not holding back the ultimate teachings
20. The fire of the inner lineage
21. The nakedness it takes to receive and deliver the
authentic lineage
22. How the need for external legitimization obscures
our vision
23. The tradition of the siddhas
Session Three: View, Practice, Result
24. Introduction to Session Three
25. The spiritual journey is a life-long commitment
26. The importance of the view: the role of
conceptual understanding
27. The practice of meditation
28. The result of our practice is compassion, love, and
the desire to liberate others
29. We have to discover what is needed now
30. Engagement with the suffering of the world
The Mahamudra Entry Protocol
31. Overview and purpose
32. Guided Practice: The Mahamudra Entry Protocol
Session Four: The Mahamudra Posture
33. Introduction to Session Four
34. Shamatha (pacifying the mind) and vipashyana
(extraordinary seeing)
35. When our physical posture is relaxed, stable, and open,
our mind naturally falls into an uncluttered state
36. Three levels of posture
37. The 12 points of the Mahamudra posture
38. Guided Practice: The Mahamudra Posture
Session Five: Meditating as the Earth
39. Introduction to Session Five
40. Prioritizing direct experience
41. Our ideas about the earth versus our experience of
the earth
42. The connection between the space inside the body and
the space of the earth
43. Guided Practice: The 10 Points and the Earth Descent
45. Guided Practice: Sitting As the Earth
Session Six: The Tantric Journey of the Session Twelve: Shamatha with the Body as
Heart Unfolding the Focal Point
46. Introduction to Session Six 91. Introduction to Session Twelve
47. The great space of being is impersonal and 92. Exploring seven levels of the breath at the perineum
totally personal 93. Guided Practice: Seven Levels of the Breath at
48. Our human lives are expressions of the universe’s love the Perineum
for us Shamatha with an Image as the Focal Point
49. Turning our faces toward the relative 94. Working with internal and external images
50. The discovery of our closed hearts 95. Guided Practice: Shamatha with Internal and
51. Being naked and tender toward ourselves and the world External Images
52. The imperative to be our authentic selves 96. Further comments on the practice of shamatha with an
Ground, Path, and Fruition Mahamudra image as the focal point
53. Ground Mahamudra Transmission: At the beginning of
the Vajrayana journey, we are shown the goal Session Thirteen: Transitional Shamatha
54. The second stage: path Mahamudra 97. Introduction to Session Thirteen
55. Fruition Mahamudra: Living in amazement as the three 98. The technique of dissolving with the out-breath
bodies of the Buddha 99. Guided Practice: Dissolving with the Out-breath
Guided Practice: Dissolving with the Out-breath and
100. 
Session Seven: Ground Mahamudra Exploring the Gap
Transmission Shamatha Without an Object
56. Introduction to Session Seven Mahamudra shamatha practices start in different places
101. 
but all bring us face-to-face with the natural state
57. “Relax, stay focused on your body, and let your
mind open” Guided Practice: Shamatha Without an Object
102. 
58. Guided Practice: Ground Mahamudra Transmission
Session Fourteen: The Power and Depth of
Session Eight: The Mahamudra Journey to the Shamatha Journey
Becoming Rooted in the Awakened State Introduction
103.  to Session Fourteen
Introduction to Session Eight The
104.  Mahamudra person has a passion for experience
59.
Ground Mahamudra Transmission connects us to the The discovery that there is no such thing as
105. 
60. 
awakened state “ordinary reality”
The Four Reminders The shamatha technique in intimate relationships:
106. 
“beholding the beloved”
61. The imperative to grow and the three main obstacles we
encounter on the path The more we practice shamatha, the more the world
107. 
opens to us in all of its depth and sacredness
62. The four contemplations that change our viewpoint
Shamatha brings us into a state of complete embodiment
108. 
63. “Precious human birth”
When we bring our mind into the depth of tranquility,
109. 
64. “Impermanence and the certainty of death”
vipashyana naturally happens
65. “Karma is real”
Enhancements to the Shamatha State
66. “Suffering is unavoidable”
Overview of tightening, loosening, and balancing
110. 
67. Guided Practice: The Four Reminders
Guided Practice: Tightening, Loosening, and Balancing
111. 
Session Nine: The Teacher after Session Fifteen: Enhancements to the
Transmission
Shamatha State, Continued
68. Introduction to Session Nine
112. Introduction to Session Fifteen
69. The role of the teacher in the modern world
Non-distraction,
113.  non-meditation, non-fabrication,
70. The lineage delivers the teachings
non-effort
71. Receiving transmission through recordings
Guided Practice: The Four-Fold Refining of Shamatha
114. 
72. Three kinds of teachers: the human teacher, the world of Recognizing Obstacles and Rousing Motivation
experience, and the natural state itself
The Mahamudra journey calls us out of hiding
115. 
Vajrayana Compassion
The job of the teacher is to help us realize the sacred
116. 
73. The centrality of compassion in the practice possibilities of our human incarnation
of Mahamudra
Obstacles on the journey: laziness and fear
117. 
74. Discovering the life-giving warmth of empty space
The Oedipal dream
118. 
75. Guided Practice: Vajrayana Compassion
Spiritual inflation and other attitudes that keep us
119. 
from practicing
Session Ten: The Shamatha “Toolbox” The Four Reminders as an important resource for
120. 
76. Introduction to Session Ten staying motivated on the path
How
77.  do we develop a deeper and more constant Compassion practice allows us to see that the work we
121. 
relationship with the great space of being? are doing is for everybody
78. Two ways to bring the mind into a state of quiescence
79. Mahamudra shamatha is 75 percent of the journey Session Sixteen: Stepping Over the
80. Review of the five shamatha techniques already Threshold into the World of Vipashyana
introduced
Introduction
122.  to Session Sixteen
81. All shamatha techniques are gates into the natural state
Through the practice of shamatha, we come to a door
123. 
82. The existential nourishment we find beyond the world
of preconceptions Learning to look
124. 
83. Shamatha with a focal object: working with the breath,
Everything in our life falls into one of the three areas of
125. 
body, and images vipashyana investigation
84. Transitional shamatha; shamatha without an
We need to look with an absolutely fresh and open mind
126. 
object; four-fold deepening; tightening, loosening, We are not looking for conceptual answers but instead
127. 
and balancing direct, naked experience
We will explore each area through “looking” and
128. 
Session Eleven: Shamatha with the Breath as through “pointing out”
Exploring the Abiding Mind
the Focal Point Looking directly at tamal gyi shepa, the natural mind
129. 
85. Introduction to Session Eleven Guided Practice: Looking at the Conformation and
130. 
Overview of the seven levels of the breath
86.  Location of the Natural State
87. Guided Practice: The Seven Levels of the Breath
88. Stages of working with these shamatha practices
89. Overview of whole-body breathing
90. Guided Practice: Whole-Body Breathing
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 Session Twenty-Two: Thoughts as 205. Practicinglovingkindness when the klesas erupt
206. “Deactivating”during klesa upheavals and then falling
Expressions of the Natural State back into the natural state
166. Introduction to Session Twenty-Two
167. We change by experience Session Twenty-Nine: All Experience Frees
168. Making a relationship with our unresolved
karmic propensities
Us and Makes Us Whole
169. Thoughts as “explosions of energy” 207. Introduction to Session Twenty-Nine
170. Relating to our mental experience from the point 208. The sacred world
of view of the awakened state 209. “Everything that appears is an expression of wisdom”
Exploring the Moving Mind 210. Pure relative truth
Session Seventeen: Human Spirituality in 171. Cutting through any preconceptions we have 211. The universe communicates its love for us through our
about thoughts relative life
the Modern World
172. Guided Practice: Looking into Thoughts Exploring Sense Perceptions
131. Introduction to Session Seventeen 212. Pure perception and our usual conceptual overlay
The challenges of offering an ancient tradition in a
132. 
consumer society
Session Twenty-Three: Exploring the
Moving Mind Session Thirty: Exploring Sense Perceptions
The misleading nature of “easy spirituality”
133. 
213. Introductionto Session Thirty
Beyond self-deception, listening to the subtle inner voice
134.  173. Introduction to Session Twenty-Three
that calls us forward 214. Working with the sensory experience of the body
174. Resting in luminosity, we perceive the natural
Exploring the Abiding Mind directionality of awareness toward phenomena 215. Guided Practice: Exploring Internal Sense Perceptions

The instruction to “look at your awareness”

135.  175. We are investigating the nature of thought, 216. Working with a visual object

Staying with our actual experience and not jumping to a

136.  not the content 217. Guided Practice: Exploring External Sense Perceptions
conclusion 176. Guided Practice: Looking at Thoughts at the Moment
Guided Practice: Looking at the Scope and Extent
137.  of Arising Session Thirty-One: The Mahamudra
of Awareness 177. Guided Practice: Looking at the Abiding (or Dwelling) Evolves in Us—Exploring
of Thoughts
Session Eighteen: Exploring the Enhancing Practices
Abiding Mind Session Twenty-Four: Exploring the 218. Introductionto Session Thirty-One
219. The Mahamudra grows in us and grows us
138. Introduction to Session Eighteen Moving Mind
220. An overview of three enhancing practices
Working
139.  with different gateways in the body 178. Introduction to Session Twenty-Four 221. Guided Practice: Exploring the Unborn Light
Letting go of “the watcher”
140.  179. Guided Practice: Looking into the Lifespan 222. Connecting with the ultimate feminine space
Guided Practice: Exploring the Birth, Abiding, and
141.  of a Thought
223. Guided Practice: Yin Breathing
Ceasing of the Natural State 180. Guided Practice: Looking for the Agency of Thoughts
“The experience itself is the message” 181. Practice insights on working with thoughts in
142. 
the Mahamudra
Session Thirty-Two: Exploring
Guided Practice: Exploring the Existence or Non-
143. 
Existence of the Natural State Enhancing Practices
Allowing these vipashyana investigations to change us
144.  Session Twenty-Five: The Pointing Out 224. Introduction to Session Thirty-Two
Guided Practice: Exploring the Essence of the
145.  of the Moving Mind 225. The energy of emptiness
Natural State 226. Discovering the “vajra body”
182. Introduction to Session Twenty-Five
227. Guided Practice: The Inner Appearance of the Body—
183. We are developing a Mahamudra style of working
Session Nineteen: Exploring the with thoughts
Exploring the Chakras
Abiding Mind 184. Guided Practice: The Pointing Out of the Moving Mind
Session Thirty-Three: How Is the
146. Introduction to Session Nineteen
147. Beyond conceptual knowing Session Twenty-Six: The Pure Energy Mahamudra Unfolding in the
148. Guided Practice: Exploring the Cognizance of the of the Moving Mind Modern World?
Natural State 228. Introduction to Session Thirty-Three
185. Introduction to Session Twenty-Six
149. Tuning in to how the natural state presents itself 229. Appreciating the Mahamudra teachings independent of
186. Considering the range of experiences that make up the
150. Guided Practice: Exploring the Immaculate Peace of the any cultural situation
moving mind
Natural State 230. Our thirst for direct experience
187. There is no possibility of escaping mental occurrence
151. Investigating the “event” of knowing 231. Sacred outlook and a nonsectarian view of spirituality
188. The underlying life force of the moving mind is pure
152. Guided Practice: Looking at the Knower and the Object 232. Everybody’s journey through life is a journey of
Dismantling the Klesas: The Fundamental
Building Blocks of Ego spiritual unfolding
Session Twenty: The Bravery and Intimacy 189. How the klesas (sticky thoughts) operate as 233. The primacy of meditation practice
of This Mahamudra Journey driving forces 234. Individuation as the fundamental human imperative

153. Introduction to Session Twenty
154. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s experience with the
Bardo Retreat
155. We cannot replant Tibetan Buddhism but instead need
to discover the Vajrayana as a process for unlocking
human spirituality
156. The unsettling nature of studying closely with Chögyam
Trungpa Rinpoche
157. Allowing for the intimacy of this journey
Reality Works Through Our Everyday Lives
158. Addressing our fundamental human longing
159. This tradition is not a commodity
160. Our actual lives in contrast to our personal narratives
161. How our relative lives work on us
162. Indestructible positivity: the discovery of trust in what
happens
190. The five primary klesas 235. Secular enlightenment and a contemporary view of
191. The klesas as primitive survival mechanisms formed renunciation
in early life 236. The importance of lineage and the need to make a
192. Dismantling the klesas through heightening the intensity commitment
of our experience of them 237. The spiritual possibilities of the householder life
193. Eating the poison: The Vajrayana approach to working 238. Spiritual elders, community, and the death of the guru
with the klesas 239. The discovery of “self-existing devotion”
240. The open-ended journey
Session Twenty-Seven: Working 241. Five markers on the path
with the Klesas
194. Introduction to Session Twenty-Seven
195. Eachof the five guided sessions on the klesas includes
looking and pointing out
196. Guided Practice: Investigating Desire
197. Guided Practice: Investigating Anger and Hatred
198. Guided Practice: Investigating Pride

Session Twenty-One: The Pointing Out of
the Abiding Mind
163. Introduction to Session Twenty-One
164. The process of “looking” and the process of
“pointing out”
165. Guided Practice: The Pointing Out of the Abiding Mind
Session Twenty-Eight: Working with the
Klesas, Continued
199. Introduction to Session Twenty-Eight
200. Guided Practice: Investigating Paranoia
201. Guided Practice: Investigating Ignorance
The Klesas in Ordinary Life
202. We need to have a tremendous amount of respect for the
power of the klesas
203. The importance of training “on the cushion”
204. Klesa attacks are given by the lineage to purify us
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