Dream Yoga And The Practice Of Natural Light Book Pdf
Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light by Namkhai Norbu. Systems for dreamwork and dream awareness have been found for millennia within Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sufism, and traditional cultures throughout the world. These dreamwork systems were and are often still cloaked in secrecy and reserved for the initiate. The recorded dream experiences of traditional peoples whose cultures are still relatively intact may help expand our understanding of the possibilities of dream work and dream awareness, including the phenomena of lucidity, telepathy, and precognitive dreams. The possibility of developing awareness within the dream state and of subsequently having intensely inspiring experiences as well as the ability to control dreams is well documented. The practices outlined in this book shows how it is possible.
Dream Yoga And The Practice Of Natural Light Book Pdf
The Nyingma lineage holds that there are 'Seven transmissions' (Tibetan: bka' babs bdun[4]), or 'sacred streams of blessing and empowerment' (Tibetan: dam pa'i byin rlabs) that may iterate the mindstream of a tantrika. Transmission is a communion of mindstreams though at the substratum there is a mindstream 'singularity' or 'oneness' (Wylie: gcig). Though the fortuitous emergence of these seven modalities or channels of transmission may occur in the waking state if the time, space, circumstance and karmic connection is opportune; they may similarly be initiated in a lucid, dream yoga state. One transmission type particularly emphasized in relation to dream yoga, symbolism and iconography, and trance states, is that of 'pure vision' (Tibetan: dag snang[5]) and the perception of Sambhogakaya thoughtforms and yidam simulacrum.
Another meditation manual by Gampopa also explains how the yogi should attempt to see Buddhas and dakinis giving them teachings in their dreams, and how this gives rise to blessing. It also recommends to practice kumbhaka breathing before sleep.[11]
In Tsongkhapa's system, it is necessary to become acquainted with the tummo, radiance/clear light and illusory body practices before practicing dream yoga (which he sees as an extension of illusory body yoga).[12] According to Tsongkhapa, before practicing dream yoga, one must first master the yoga of retaining the radiance/clear light that arises at the moment of falling asleep (through experiencing the visions etc.) as explained above. If one practices this before sleep, when a dream occurs, one will realize that one is in a dream.[13]
Dream yoga in Tsongkhapa's system consists of four trainings: "learning to retain [conscious presence during] dreams; controlling and increasing dreams; overcoming fear and training in the illusory nature of dreams; and meditating upon the suchness of dreams."[14]
Dream yoga practice begins by first acquiring the skill to recognize one is dreaming within the dream. If one is not successful in recognizing one's dream through the practice of retaining the radiance of sleep,"one should cultivate a strong resolution to retain conscious awareness in the dream state. In addition, one meditates on the chakras, especially that at the throat."[15] If one can make this resolution to recognize one's dream strong and continuous throughout the day, one will be able to recognize one's dream.[16] One can also practice the visualization meditations on the throat and forehead chakras during the day so as to enhance one's ability at night. One may also meditate upon oneself as the deity, and on guru yoga, offering prayers so that one may experience clear dreams.[17]
One can also meditate on the heart chakra before sleep. According to Tsongkhapa, if one finds it too difficult to recognize one is dreaming, then this means one is a deep sleeper, and thus one should switch to the crown chakra. This will lighten one's sleep.[20] If this makes sleep difficult however, then one can focus on the chakra at the tip of the penis and unites the vital winds there 21 times through kumbhaka.[20]
Once one has recognized the dream, one can begin to learn to control it. One first practices controlling basic elements such as flying, going to the heavens, traveling to buddhafields etc. One can also train in "increasing", i..e multiplying dream objects, including one's body, into numerous duplicates. The practice of controlling the vital winds will enhance one's ability to control the dream.[21]
Finally, one meditates on suchness in the dream. One visualizes oneself as the deity, with a HUM at the heart, radiating light everywhere. This light melts everything in the dream into light, which is drawn into the HUM. One's body also melts and is drawn into the HUM. Then the HUM dissolves into radiance/clear light, and one rests in the state of radiance.[23]
Evans-Wentz describes Tibetan dream yoga in his book Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines as one of the six subtypes of yoga elaborated by the Tibetan guru Marpa and passed down by his disciple Milarepa. The author describes six stages of dream yoga. In the first stage, the dreamer is told to become lucid in the dream. In the second stage, the dreamer is instructed to overcome all fear of the contents of the dream so there is the realization that nothing in the dream can cause harm. For instance, the lucid dreamer should put out the fire with his hands and realize fire cannot burn him in the dream. Next, the dreamer should contemplate how all phenomena both in the dream and in waking life are similar because they change, and that life is illusory in both states because of this constant change. Both the objects in the dream and objects in the world in the Buddhist worldview are therefore empty and have no substantial nature. This is the stage of contemplating the dream as maya, and equating this sense of maya with everyday experience in the external world. Next, The dreamer should realize that he or she has control of the dream by changing big objects into small ones, heavy objects into light ones, and many objects into one object.[24]
After gaining control over objects and their transformations, in the fifth stage, the dreamer should realize that the dreamer's dream body is as insubstantial as the other objects in the dream. The dreamer should realize that he or she is not the dream body. The dreamer who has gained complete control over dream objects could, for instance, alter the body's shape or make the dream body disappear altogether. Finally, in the sixth stage, the images of deities (Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or Dakinis) should be visualized in the lucid dream state. These figures are frequently seen in Tibetan religious art (thangkas) and used in meditation. They are said to be linked to or resonate with the clear light of the Void. They can, therefore, serve as symbolic doorways to this mystical state of being (the Void or clear light). The dreamer is instructed to concentrate on these symbolic images without distraction or thinking about other things so that the revelatory side of these symbols will become manifest.[24]
...if we do sadhanas regularly and faithfully we will begin to dream about doing them. In the same way, if we practise illusory body we will begin to dream about it, too. There is a great correspondence between dream yoga and illusory body. The more we think of illusory body, the more dreams we will have. We will see them as dreams, rather than mistaking them for real life. We can do many things in dreams which we are unable to do while awake.[25]
People who have practised dream yoga have been able to visit teachers they missed and travel to lands they never managed to get to in the waking state. The dream state is a very pure state of mind.[26]
Namkhai Norbu advises that the realization that life is only a big dream can help liberate from the chains of emotions, attachments, and ego, opening up the possibility of ultimately becoming enlightened.[27]
I propose a broader sense in which a state can be understood as lucid, drawing from the descriptions offered by the Tibetan Buddhist literature of the state of the clear light instead of the notion of lucidity used in LD research. According to those traditions, the aspirational state sought while engaging in clear light sleep practices is a state in which one realises the true nature of the mind. As I mentioned, such descriptions rely on metaphysical claims taken by Tibetan Buddhist traditions about the mind, namely, the fact that one encounters the essence of consciousness in such a state. Here, I leave aside how such a state should be considered in metaphysical terms, and instead, focus on how it might be like phenomenologically:
Similarly, such an approach might also deem as LD certain dreams that might not involve lucidity in the technical sense of the word. For instance, some classic LD reports highlight the fact that the dreamer might be able to carry out the desired dream task, yet still deeming the dream environment as reality (see Worsley 1984). Moreover, some research has pointed out to the fact that the pre-established eye-signal might sometimes not even be carried out during sleep but during REM to wakefulness transition (see Mota-Rolim 2020 for a discussion).
Your awareness is the light of the projector. It shines through the analogy of the film, which is your karmic traces, creating images and stories, which is the movie. So all the different kinds of dreams that you have are generally about what your karmic traces are.
May all beings clear all their karmic traces into the true freedom of enlightenment. Thank you for joining me. As I usually announce at the end of each teaching, I talked about not being able to justify putting four or five or 600 that would keep a Tibetan happily in retreat for a year into a new toy. Should you have a bit extra, 300 will actually keep a Tibetan in basic retreat for a year. Should you like to team up with a Tibetan and merge your practice and the results with a yogi who stays in retreat or with simply someone in need for bodhisattvic reasons, send me an email about that and I will have either I or my assistant, Onalayah, will explain further.