Lama Surya Das looks to the sky with naked awareness as he explores the Dzogchen practice of natural non-meditation and offers four ways of cultivating authenticity and presence.
Sky Gazing
Lama Surya Das explains the three pillars of natural non-meditation: natural body, natural breath, and natural heart-mind. He offers insight into the practice of sky gazing, of naked awareness. Which allows for a more expansive perspective on the impermanent nature of life.
“We didn’t even know how uptight we were until we learned to relax. Like when you go on vacation for two weeks, doesn’t it take you the first three or six or nine days just to arrive and relax?” – Lama Surya Das
Pith Instructions (12:08)
Lama Surya Das talks about his guru’s four favorite pith instructions: not fabricating or contriving, not doing or seeking, not meditating, and not distracted. He then offers his own four ways of embodiment, authenticity, and presence: not selfing, not resisting or manipulating, not judging and evaluating, and not nothing.
“Don’t make meditation one more ordinary, egocentric, strategic, self-improvement project activity.” – Lama Surya Das
Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form (21:02)
Lama Surya Das takes questions from the audience about the concept of not selfing. Whether it’s necessary to have a living guru, and the meaning of the Heart Sutra.
“The Heart Sutra is supposed to help us intuit beyond our conceptual thinking and brains, and use other tools that we have. The heart is an organ of perception.” – Lama Surya Das
Explore more about the Heart Sutra with Lama Surya Das on Awakening Now Ep. 67
