LONGCHENPA
The Great Perfection
Meditations on Awakening — Inspired by Longchenpa
All phenomena are like an optical illusion
Appearing vividly
Yet having no true existence
Just as a mirage appears in the desert
Yet vanishes upon approach
Samsaric appearances arise
But have no real foundation
They come from nowhere
Go nowhere
Leave no trace
As taught in the Prajnaparamita Sutra
Sabuti all things are like tricks of sight
By their nature they come from nowhere
...
Shadows are cast by material forms
They arise in the shape of these forms
Yet have no true substance
Likewise the radiance of awareness is like an empty mirror
Luminous
Vast
Spontaneously present
When this radiance is not recognized
Beings fall into the illusion of duality
And wander through endless manifestations
Form
Sensation
Thought
...
Samsaric perception is like an optical trick
Deceptive yet vivid
Unreal yet seemingly real
Like children playing with sandcastles
We grasp at the shifting illusions
Form
Sound
Taste
Thought
Enchanted by fleeting appearances
We cling to I
And mine
Binding ourselves to the cycle of suffering
Not knowing reality
We mistake the illusion for truth
...
All things
High and low
Happiness and sorrow
Are mere projections of the mind
Like reflections on water
They appear vividly
Yet have no solid core
If left unexamined
They seem real
If examined deeply
Even the subtlest particles dissolve into space
All forms
All sensations
All thoughts
Empty from the very beginning
...
Like a trick of sight
Samsaric appearances seem solid and real
Yet they are born of a single subtle illusion
Grasping at self
Just as heat and distance make a crow appear as large as a yak
So too ignorance distorts perception
Through subtle grasping
The entire hallucination of samsara arises
Yet when the root is examined
It is empty
Rootless
Groundless
...
No one can simply erase an optical illusion
But if the object creating the illusion is removed
The illusion vanishes
Likewise samsara is not removed
For it never truly existed
Instead we release the grasping
The fixation
That sustains its illusion
...
All things appear
But nothing can be grasped
They manifest vividly
Yet are ungraspable like space
By resting in this direct knowing
The illusion collapses on its own
This is called
The fundamental way of being of all phenomena
...
Do not think of anything
Do not analyze anything
Do not alter anything
Rest naturally
Uncontrived
This is the supreme meditation
The path walked by all Buddhas
Past
Present
Future
...
Before sleep visualize a ball of five colored light in your heart
Fall asleep without grasping
Without reference
Recognizing all dreams as illusions
One gains the power to transform them
With this realization
Waking life is also seen as dreamlike
And the grasping at reality dissolves
...
Meditative concentration arises naturally
The illusion of solidified appearances collapses
Bliss
Luminosity
Clarity
Arise
As realization deepens
Samsara’s illusion dissolves
And one is propelled beyond suffering
...
Phenomena are like mirages
Appearing
Yet empty
Non-existent
Yet vivid
Seeing this
One completely transcends samsara
Wisdom shines forth
Recognizing all things
As dreamlike
And free
...
May all beings awaken from illusion
May they see things as they truly are
May deluded clinging dissolve
Revealing the vast openness of pure awareness
May all suffering be exhausted
And all beings rest
In the luminous expanse of liberation