I am long time student of Chogyam Trungpa. Unfortunately, the current situation at the sangha (now Shambhala International) is in a state of chaos. I am interested in becoming B. Alan Wallace's student. I'm wondering if his path is similar to Vajradhatu, in other words, start with shamatha/vipassana, then ngondro, and then abhiseka. Thank you

Is it possible to connect with students of B. Alan Wallace through this forum? I have been desperate to get blessings/ initiation in his lineage. Thank you!

I have been studying and practicing meditation for over a decade, mainly following Kamalashila's stages of meditation as a guide. I learned that Shamata is defined as ***the single-mindedness which is imbued with the exceptional bliss of practiced ease due to single pointed meditation on its object***. I have just started Alan Wallace's Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Bodhisattva Way of Life (https://media.sbinstitute.com/courses/fall2013/) where he is giving instruction in "Shamatha practice". I believe he means a meditation practice with the goal of achieving shamata. However, when I hear "shamata practice", I automatically think that someone is already able to rest in the state of Shamata and is meditating at that level. This would be like, for instance, someone running having a "running practice" by running. In contrast, someone aspiring to be a runner, might first begin with walking as they get in shape. They might say, "I am walking, with the goal of running." Do you think they would call their walking a "running practice"? Given the definition of shamata I know, it seems many different meditation practices could potentially lead to shamata, if that was one's intention for their practice. My first question is: Is there something distinctive about "shamata practice"? My second question, is where did the custom of labeling meditation "shamata practice" originate?

Alan mentions a handout for this class from which he's teaching the Lojong. Is there any way to acquire this hand out or; is there a text that goes along with this lojong portion of the class?

Alan Wallace says this regularly, for example, at the beginning of this lecture: http://media.sbinstitute.com/courses/fall2012/13-loving-kindness-1/ Is it Tibetan? What is its direct translation?

One night I awoke straight into meditative state(I practice *Samatha*),it was so odd that really awoke me for real.If I hadn't of been so surprised I might have just gone with it.anyone else ? Other than being slightly surprising it was OK.

On http://media.sbinstitute.com/courses/spring2016/91/ , there is an Awareness-based meditation where we are invited to observe the various objects that we are aware off : thoughts, sounds, sensations, etc... Question 1 : a/ do these objects appear IN Awareness ? (like clouds appearing IN the sky) ? OR b/ do these objects appear FROM Awareness (and in this case my analogy with the sky is not correct; because clouds are not made of sky) question 2 : I more and more come across the statement that objects (thoughts, sounds, sensations) are in fact MADE OF Awareness; and hence are not distinct from Awareness. But my mind can't understand that... Has anybody analogies or explanations so that I can understand this (apparently) paradox ? Thank you all for your replies :) Namaste

I think both substrate and rigpa are not a state - they pervade into states. Substrate consciousness pervades on waking state and dreaming state - so in the substrate consciousness we can have lucid dream, where we are aware that we are dreaming (or substrate consciousness is aware that we are dreaming). Rigpa pervades sleep state (without dream) as well as waking state and dreaming state - so rigpa can be aware of rigpa when we are in deep sleep. In other words, something is awake when we are in deep sleep because rigpa is aware of rigpa. Is my understanding correct? --- I need to elaborate my questions. Rigpa is different from what is achieved from Zen or other non-dual traditions such as Vedanta or Shavism, and Rigpa can be achieved when we go one step further from being aware of being aware. In Vedanta, Turiya can be recognized when being aware of being aware, and something(not a state) pervaded into wake, dream and deep sleep state, so in Turiya we can dream with recognizing the dream(lucid dream), when we are fully settled in Turiya. But "when we go one step further," only thing I can presume is that something can be recognized when being in deep sleep. So it could be called Rigpa, as Rigpa is aware of Rigpa when in deep sleep. What I am trying to say is not criticizing his teaching; I respect his teachings. Also the explanation on Vedanta is just reference to describe the question, mostly coming from Ken Wilber's book - Vedanta is not the topic here. I just want to clarify my understanding on the teaching and what Rigpa is. Please help me to understand.

I've been reading books written by, or associated with Alan Wallace, that describe a period of time that is new to me - Ghatika (24 minute period). > A session of twenty-four minutes is a good starting interval; for most people, it is neither too short nor too long ... and this is the session duration that the eighth-century Indian Buddhist contemplative Kamalashila recommended for begining meditators. *(Minding Closely: The Four Applications of Mindfulness By B. Alan Wallace p.33)* Wallace goes on to claim that in the Vajrayana tradition a Ghatika is also considered an ideal meditation time because it is the time it takes for the subtle energies to do a full body circuit. Longer duration sits will of course be multiples of a Ghatika. Some poking around on the internet reveals it is a Vedic measure of time - Vedic calculations of time and creation and was measured using a Ghatika Yantra, an ancient Indian water clock . I can find no reference to meditation apart from Alan Wallace references. Can anyone else perhaps shed more light on this?

In Karma-Chagme's book, "A Spacious Path to Freedom", he emphasizes the importance of correct posture in directing the vital energies to the central channel. In particular, he mentions (1) the tongue pressed against the pallet, (2) the teeth lightly touching, & (3) gaze directed 4 finger lengths beyond the tip of the nose. I find that when I try to incorporate these three elements of posture into my practice I quickly store up tension in my jaw and throughout my face in general. Additionally, keeping the gaze correctly placed is a full-time task that tends to excite the vital energies rather than relax the body. How can I balance keeping a correct posture while maintaining a relaxed attitude of effortless non-striving?

In this lecture , by B. Alan Wallace, of mindfulness of breathing with relaxation, it has been instructed that I have to release all thoughts, relax every part of the body and let go of all involuntary thoughts during exhalation. Now what exactly is meant by releasing all thoughts with exhalation? What should I do during exhalation? Does it mean that mind will go blank during exhalation? If yes, then how is it possible?