Tue, 08 Sep 2009
Tantra for Dummies
Back to Ganges Mahamudra:
If people of inferior intelligence [can] not abide in the ultimate meaning, they [should] hold the vital point of wind energies and give up exerting [themselves] in awareness. Until you abide in the ongoing state of awareness by means of myriad gazes and [modes of] focused attention, make effort!
"Inferior intelligence" doesn't mean stupid. Some people, as a result of their accumulation of merit and practice in previous lives, find it easy to understand the main point of mahamudra. The majority, who find it more difficult to understand mahamudra, are the ones labeled here as having inferior intelligence. The text recommends that these people practice tantra instead of mahamudra. Through the practice of tantra they will understand the essential point of mahamudra and then be able to practice it. The practice of tantra is often combined with the practice of mahamudra in what is known as fivefold mahamudra. Although the practice of mahamudra should be without effort, some effort is required in the practices that support it. Practicing them in an effortless way would be a mistake.
