dzogchen · Dudjom Lingpa's Vajra Essence (B. Alan Wallace commentary)
Settling the Mind in Its Natural State
The core Mahamudra/Dzogchen shamatha method of 'taking the impure mind as the path' — resting attention on the domain of mental events themselves, rather than sensory objects, until compulsive thinking calms into the mind's own natural stillness.
The theory, briefly
The text distinguishes the 'manifest nature' of the mind — the constantly changing flow of thoughts, memories, emotions, and mental appearances, shaped by the body, environment, and prior mental habits — from its 'essential nature': a more primal flow of consciousness the text calls the substrate consciousness. The practice of settling the mind in its natural state, also called 'taking the impure mind as the path,' is the method for moving from the first toward direct acquaintance with the second.
Rather than trying to suppress or analyze thoughts, the method has one rest in the stillness of awareness itself, withdrawn from the five physical senses, and simply observe whatever mental events arise — without following them into memories of the past or plans for the future, and without trying to modify, block, or sustain them.
Quoting the Vajra Essence directly, the text describes what happens with sustained practice: 'fluctuating thoughts do not cease; however, mindful awareness exposes them, so you don't get lost in them as usual... eventually all coarse and subtle thoughts will be calmed in the empty expanse of the essential nature of your mind,' producing an experience described as bliss, luminosity, and a stillness 'unmoved by waves.' Practiced continuously, both during and between formal sessions, this calming process is said to culminate in a glimpse of the substrate consciousness itself, in which the ordinary sense of self, others, and objects momentarily disappears.
The practice
Settling the Mind in Its Natural State (Taking the Mind as the Path)
15–30 minutes · Seated wherever you already are, resting in the stillness of awareness (specific physical posture not detailed in this passage)
- 1Rest in the stillness of awareness and withdraw attention from all five domains of sensory experience (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).
- 2Focus single-pointedly on the domain of mental events themselves — thoughts, memories, and mental appearances as they arise.
- 3Observe whatever thoughts arise without following those about the past or being drawn into thoughts about the future.
- 4Do not modify, block, or try to perpetuate any mental event that arises — simply observe its nature without engaging its content.
- 5The thoughts themselves won't necessarily stop — the text is direct about this: 'fluctuating thoughts do not cease.' What changes is that mindful awareness exposes them clearly enough that you stop getting lost inside them the way you usually do.
- 6Sustain this flow of mindfulness continuously, without being distracted by sensory appearances or identifying with any mental impulse that passes through.
- 7With sustained practice, the text describes coarse and subtle thoughts gradually calming into the mind's own natural stillness — sometimes felt as a kind of warmth, like the warmth of a fire; a luminosity, like the first light of dawn; and a quiet, like an ocean unmoved by waves. If any of this arises, simply notice it the same unforced way — it isn't a state to chase or hold onto.
- 8Continue this practice consistently, both during formal sessions and between them, letting coarse and subtle thoughts gradually calm on their own.
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