LONGCHENPA
The Great Perfection
Meditations on Awakening — Inspired by Longchenpa
Sleep
The mind imploding into darkness
Sinking helplessly into ignorance
Yet within this very state
Awareness shines as utter lucidity
Dreams arise from subtle karma
Unfolding as habitual patterns of mind
Some teachings refine these habits
Through recognition and transformation
Others dissolve them
By seeing their nature
Free from elaboration
Beyond effort
But here we take the single direct path
Rest in the nature of awareness itself
...
Lying in the sleeping lion’s posture
Let your attention settle
In the essence of bare luminous consciousness
Unwavering
Clear
Effortless
Draw inward the energy
That would scatter into dreams
Let go of the movement of thought
As the mind becomes increasingly subtle
Do not be distracted
Rest naturally
In the radiance of awareness
Subtle energy and mind
Merge into the central channel
All concepts dissolve
There is only unobstructed clarity
A vast openness
Lucid
Timeless
Still
Sleep becomes a state of wisdom
...
At first, dreams may arise in abundance
But gradually they will fade
For some dreams cease entirely
For others they become clear
Revealing their illusory nature
For the rest
Even if dreams remain
They transform into luminous visions
Free from confusion
No longer lost in forgetfulness
You remain aware
Even in the depths of sleep
Awareness is seamless
Whether in waking
Dreaming
Or rest
...
Sleep is not an obstacle
It is not something to be rejected
It is the doorway to realization
At night the rigid fixation on appearances dissolves
Concepts fade into subtle energy
This energy dissolves
Into the ground of being
And for a short time
You abide in pure conceptless awareness
This is sleep as timeless awareness
Samsara dissolves naturally into nirvana
...
Even in sleep, awareness is not lost
There is no clinging to external objects
The mind does not scatter
Lucid yet free of thought
Radiant yet beyond concepts
This is the supreme natural rest
By resting in this way
Ignorance itself is used as the path
The depth of sleep
And the vastness of awareness
Are one and the same
This is the Yoga of Sleep
Rest here
And awaken
To what has always been free