78 External and Internal Space

Alan reminds us that the advanced practices of “not meditating on anything” (page 176, Natural Liberation) are intended for those who have already achieved Shamatha and the insights of Vipashyana, and identified rigpa as well. The job at this point is to rest there in pristine awareness and view the display of appearances from that vantage while releasing subtler and subtler forms of grasping.

After 44 years of gathering data, Alan has confirmed for himself the hypothesis that once the aspiration for genuine happiness begins to orient your life, the universe will rise up to meet you with blessings. Although the universe is eudaimonically friendly, it is not necessarily hedonically friendly. The blessings bestowed when you need them support the development of wisdom not comfort.

After the silent meditation Alan comments on the practice described here in the text of using visual awareness to discern external and internal space. Between sessions one should engage in all activities with the meditative equipoise gained during the sessions, a practice we should remember after we leave retreat.

The break for the silent, unrecorded meditation starts at 44:04