Tergar Asia 8 Days Retreat in Thailand (2018) - 8D

2018「泰國八日禪」明就仁波切9月16日圓滿日開示

■ app是護法神，幫你養成禪修好習慣

在禪修的過程中，會有氣動、能量轉化的情形發生，這有四種情況：

一，身體感受：覺得頭頂有什麼在動，感覺脊椎刺刺的，或者覺得胸口氣卡住，有時覺得熱，有時身體會晃動，有些會哭，有時會打手印。這些都只是氣動，都是正常的。

二，感知層面：覺得聽到什麼、看到什麼，或佛菩薩或鬼魔來告訴你什麼。

三，情緒起伏：有時很喜悅，有時很沮喪，有時很生氣，有時覺得痛，讓心不清楚，但幾天後痛不見了，覺得好清楚，會覺得這下我可能開悟了吧。

四，能量感受：覺得這個人有正能量，那個地方有負能量，我可以知道這個人的情緒是什麼等等。

這四種裡有兩種是真的、兩種是假的，身體感受和情緒起伏是真的，但感知和能量是假的，不要相信。

總的來說要知道這些都是氣動而已，原來不淨的氣脈明點轉化為清淨的氣脈明點，清淨的氣脈明點再轉化為智慧的氣脈明點。從不淨的轉為清淨常會發生氣動，但從清淨的轉化為智慧則不大會有什麼特別的狀況發生。

有時「不淨轉化為清淨」和「清淨轉化為智慧」這兩種情況會一起發生，有時會次第發生。

但「清淨轉化為智慧」這種轉化，唯有修持心性才會發生，因為心性超越時間、超越物質、超越大小、超越遠近，一旦見到心性，那時你對身體的感知，也會超越時間、超越物質，就像月亮映照在平靜的湖面上，身體在一切處又不在一切處。

現在說了你們也不會懂，但只要持續練習，這些以後自然會發生，你們會自然經歷到。

在這過程中，覺受大浪會時不時撲過來，不要執取，不要中斷，繼續修下去，這樣心性就會越來越清楚。

重點是持續練習下去，但不要一下設定太大目標，要知道自己能力範圍在哪裡，不要聽到人家一天坐六小時，你也要跟他拚了，也許先從每天一小時、半小時開始，堅持一個月。

在閉關之後，尤其是八日禪之後，第一個禮拜，你會覺得每天禪修一小時半小時還算容易。但第二個禮拜，才坐上禪修墊不久就會開始找手機。

「八日禪我拍了一些美照，有沒有人來點讚？」開始覺得全身在癢，還是忍不住滑手機，「我就看五分鐘」，結果十五分鐘甚至一小時過了，「那明天修一小時好了」，結果第二天才念皈依發菩提心，就開始打哈欠。沒錯，第二個禮拜就變難了，小心別碰手機，也許你可以跑到另一個空間禪修，比如頂樓或山上，禪修完要滑手機再滑。

第三個禮拜開始習慣了，會覺得好一點。
第四個禮拜，覺得還不錯，習慣就建立起來了。
能這樣堅持三個月，你的習慣就會很穩固。

回家之後，如果有時因為生病、旅遊而無法持續禪修，這是沒關係的，但要把禪修這件事放在心上。

除了正式的座上修，還有非正式的生活禪修，這時你就可以在看手機時禪修了，比如每看到一個讚你就禪修一次，或每一次訊息鈴響起或震動了，你就看一下心性。

現在德噶開發了一種app，你們可以到app store下載，是免費的，你可以自己制定內容和傳送提醒的時間及頻率，然後定時寄給自己，提醒自己作禪修。以前有時做禪修做到忘了時間，會想要不要重做，現在那個App會提醒你時間。

你們回家之後都有功課要做，有一個完成功課的捷徑，就是到app設定一個時間，每天時間一到就會提醒你做功課，比如解脫道一二階功課，你可以設定禪修時間或主題。下座禪修時也要建立習慣，可以借助計數器，想到心性就按一下。或者開心禪課程中也說過，可以在家裡或辦公室貼些符號或標語，看到就會提醒自己去做禪修。

但提醒自己作禪修的「最佳app」，其實是遇到麻煩和困難。比如我小時候有恐慌症，漸漸的恐慌症好了，只剩禪修。但我還是很感謝恐慌症，它幫我做禪修。沒有恐慌症反而有時會忘了禪修，所以是恐慌症幫助了我禪修。

有關德噶app 詳情及下載：https://app.tergar.org

https://www.facebook.com/TergarAsia/posts/650951508633648?__xts__[0]=68.ARD7r8OpMqXlJ5j0bCsqVpaw_nj5pxUeagPNsOvfNqOlY75EOlAw09LG2kZzVEydwsEbzQBTaJp1zf1N88WKT-3pQ0z6J9M2vCflAqBML9Hw6Az3YadtBrS3iShga9yLP6e1UMKFEEC2SBUr36KBunM2dIqm6xdWvojqXiPwIvGos_rmozHC&__tn__=-R

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■ Like a dharma protector, an app can help you to build up a meditation habit

When you meditate, sometimes you may feel some energy movement. There are four types of energy movement.

1 Physical sensations. You may feel some movement at the top of the head, or some tingling at the back, or something is blocked in the chest area. Occasionally, there may be heat in your body, or your body moves and shakes. Some may cry or even make mudras with the hands. These are all energy movements and they are normal.

2 Sensory perceptions. You may hear sounds or see images. You may see buddhas and bodhisattvas coming to you and giving you special messages.

3 Emotional ups and downs. From time to time you may feel joyful and blissful, but after a while, you start feeling depressed or angry. You may even have physical pain in the body and your mind becomes unclear. Yet after a few days, the pain is gone and your mind becomes clear again. You may wonder "Wow! Maybe this time I have finally become enlightened!”

4 Perception of positive and negative energy. You start to feel "Oh! This person has good energy!" "That place has bad energy!" "I know what the other people are thinking..."

Among these four, two are real and two are not real. The physical sensations and the emotional ups and downs are real. However, the sensory and energy perceptions are not real, so don't believe in that. Generally speaking, you just have to understand that these are all energy movements, which may happen when prana, nadi and bindu are being transformed.

Actually, there are two kinds of such transformation. The first one is the transformation from the impure prana, nadi and bindu to the pure prana, nadi and bindu. The second one is the transformation from the pure prana, nadi and bindu to the wisdom of prana, nadi and bindu.

For the first one, energy movement often happens when the "impure" is being transformed to the "pure". However, during the transformation from the "pure" to the "wisdom", there will not be any energy movement. Sometimes, it is possible for both transformations to happen at the same time, but it is also possible that there is a sequence where the transformation from the "pure" to the "wisdom" comes after the transformation from the "impure" to the "pure".

However, an important point you must remember is the transformation from the "pure" to the "wisdom" is only possible through the nature of mind practice, because the nature of mind is beyond time, particle, big and small, near and far. Once you see the nature of mind, the perception of your own body will also be beyond time and particle, just like the moon reflection in the lake. The body is everywhere and nowhere. But, even though I tell you these now, you will not be able to understand. However, if you keep on practicing, these will happen naturally in the future and you will be able to experience them. During such a process, sometimes there may be "huge waves". So, don't grasp onto your experience, don't stop, and keep on practicing. Eventually, your nature of mind will become clearer and clearer.

The most important thing is to keep on practicing, but at the same time, don't set a goal too high and you must understand your capability. Don't try to compete with the others when you hear someone says he practices for six hours a day. Perhaps you can start from an hour, or even thirty minutes a day, and then practice diligently for a month.

After a retreat, in particular an 8-day retreat like this, you will find that meditating for an hour or half an hour a day is quite easy for the first week. Yet when the second week comes, you may start looking for your smartphone soon after you sit on the meditation cushion. "Oh! I took so many beautiful photos during the 8-day retreat, how many "likes" did I get?" You may feel restless, as if your hand is "itching", and finally, you grab your phone and start scrolling... "Alright, I will just browse for five minutes..." Soon, fifteen minutes, or even an hour passed by and you tell yourself "Okay, I will meditate for an hour tomorrow." When tomorrow comes, you start to yawn soon after reciting the bodhicitta aspiration prayer... Indeed, the practice of meditation becomes difficult soon after the first week. So be careful and don't touch your smartphone! Perhaps you can go to another spot to meditate, for example, go to the rooftop or the mountain. Play with your smartphone only after the meditation practice.

When the third week comes, you are getting used to the new habit, and when it is the fourth week, you may even feel good about your meditation practice. You have built up your daily meditation habit step by step, and it will become even more stable if you continue to do so with diligence for three months.

After you have returned home, sometimes you cannot continue your practice because you are sick or when you are travelling. Don't worry, but you must also continue to keep your practice close to your heart.

Apart from the formal practice, there is also the informal practice which you can do during your everyday life. This time, you can meditate while looking at your smartphone! For example, you can meditate whenever you see a "like", or you can look at the nature of mind whenever you hear the ringtone or sense the vibration each time you get a new message on the phone.

Recently, Tergar has developed an app which is free of charge and which you can download through the App Store. You can type in your own message to remind you of practice, set the time and frequency of practice, and the app will automatically send you the reminder. In the past, sometimes you might forget to write down the time you started to practice and after a while, you forgot how much time you have practiced and wondered whether you have to do it all over again. But now, this app can help remind you about the time and your practice.

After you have returned home, you all have homework to do. Actually, there is a "short cut" to finishing your homework and that is, set your schedule in the app! It will remind you to practice when it is the right time. For example, if you are in the Path of Liberation 1 and 2, you can set your reminder according to your topic and the length of time you would like to practice. It is also important for you to build up the informal practice habit. For example, you can use a small counter and press it once each time you think of the nature of mind. In the Joy of Living, we have also talked about using some images or words, and stick them somewhere in your home or in your office so that you will remember to practice everytime you see them.

Actually, the “best app” to remind ourselves to practice is when we are facing a problem. When I was young, I had panic disorder. As my panic gradually disappeared, what has remained is my meditation practice. I am very grateful to my panic because it helped me to practice. If I didn't have this panic disorder, perhaps I might have forgotten to meditate. Therefore, my panic disorder has really helped me in my meditation practice.

(Excerpt from Mingyur Rinpoche's teaching on 16 Sep 2018, on the final day of the Tergar Asia 8-Day Retreat)

For more details of the app : https://app.tergar.org