Ripple Commentary

“Beyond words, beyond thought, beyond description, Prajñāpāramitā

Unborn, unceasing, the very essence of space

Yet you can be experienced as the wisdom of our own awareness:

Homage to the mother of the buddhas of past, present and future!”

 

The “Ripple” Virtual Reality (VR) experience was designed to meet the request of the aNUma team in 2021 to develop a contemplative experience in the numadelic aesthetic. For reasons that will be developed in this commentary, the numadelic aesthetic is uniquely suited to contemplative practice, and is particularly in line with initiatory and yogic elements of the Tantric Buddhist (Vajrayāna) tradition. I felt this was a great opportunity to develop something that was both innovative and yet connected with wisdom lineage.

 

On the surface, Ripple is readily accessible, and generally won’t offend sensibilities, whether they are Christian, atheist, etc. At the same time, it is a practice of understanding the nature of mind and reality, and draws from a richly developed tradition of theory and practice.

 

Ripple also takes resonance from the unique cultural moment in which we find ourselves, where immersive technology, psychedelics, and contemplative practice are informing one another in novel ways. This cross-fertilization may prove beneficial, but is also fraught with challenges. And since it is happening anyway, it was our intention to do it in the best way possible.

 

Technology, psychedelics, and contemplative practice are alike in that they can all be used for a variety of purposes including personal or collective healing, developing a connection with the natural world, developing creativity, or as a part of a spiritual journey. These three domains are also alike in that they all have a rich tradition of being methods for approaching the ultimate nature of mind and reality. This pursuit is distinct from other use cases, and though it may overlap with other motivations, its primary concern is developing wisdom: knowledge of the true nature of things.

 

This commentary is primarily concerned with how the Vajrayāna tradition has informed the design of Ripple, and beyond being informative, is intended to create a basis for discussing the relationship of tradition and innovation, techne and wisdom, and the insights and perils of combining contemplative practice and technology (and in some cases psychedelics) in the service of knowing the difference between virtual appearance and reality.

The Three Sacred Principles

In Tibetan what is called the “dampa sum” are the mark of a genuine Dharma practice. Dharma is whatever aids in cutting through self-deception and understanding the truth. Dampa means sacred, sum is three: “The Three Sacred Principles.” The first of these three is that a genuine practice begins with a genuine motivation. This is called bodhichitta, the mind that wishes for one’s own full awakening, for Buddhahood, and the full awakening of all beings. That’s the starting point that sets the course in the right direction.

 

Intention

Here in Ripple, we try to encourage this in a personal way by asking people to hold an energetic thread in a circle and share their intention for the session. This is a unique moment where people from disparate geographical locations are holding the same object in virtual space, imbuing it with their intention. This thread then vanishes, to reappear at the end of the session. The practice of setting an intention is renewed at the denouement of the Ripple experience, and participants are given an opportunity to reflect on the power and nature of setting such an intention in the context of embodiment.  

 

This is very similar to standard practice in psychedelic use—set and setting. From the Buddhist standpoint, the root of everything we experience is mind. Mind is at the root, and the first movement of mind is either motivated by habitual ignorance, deliberate intention, or aimless awakened wisdom. While we are still on the path to awakening, we oscillate between habit and intention. Intention can be positive or negative. By moving from habit to intention, and from negative self-centered intention to positive altruistic intention, we can go beyond negative and positive altogether, and awaken.

 

If we’re going to open the doors to what is beyond habitual mind—through psychedelics, spiritual practice, or immersive tech—we will naturally have to loosen preconceptions and habits, allowing mind to go in any which direction. Mind becomes a bit freer and more malleable. If an intention hasn’t been set, then all sorts of impinging conditions can enter that can create suffering and confusion. This is importance of “set.”  The “setting” is the environment held by the facilitator, and the environment created in the numadelic design process. The setting is held with intention, and contained.

 

The View

The second of the Three Sacred Principles is the main practice, which is focused on the view. What is meant by “the view” has many different levels and nuances such as “selflessness,” “emptiness,” or “Buddha Nature,” depending on the level of understanding.

 

From the perspective of the Mahāmudrā (Skt. “The Great Seal”) and Dzogchen (Tib. “The Great Perfection”) lineages that focus on recognition of pristine awareness, “the view” is understanding the nature of mind as empty of any essence, clearly apparent, and unimpeded in compassionate creativity. The mind’s nature is beyond any concept. It is empty of any idea that we might have about it. Yet, it is also spontaneously radiant—it is clear, it is alive, it is cognizant. The view is a self-reflexive knowing of essential emptiness and spontaneous clarity in union. Within that open emptiness, clarity manifests with unimpeded creative compassion. The view is known and developed in creative connectedness with others. This is the primary focus of Ripple, discovering the view and becoming more familiar with it in intimacy with others.

 

In the second scene of Ripple, the facilitator introduces the view according to their own understanding. As there are different levels of that explanation relative to the speaker and audience, we begin with the simplest level. The most basic introduction to the view is pointing out that what appears to be solid, permanent, and independent is actually otherwise. When we look closely with discrimination, persons and things are not solid, they are impermanent, and they arise in dependence and connection to other things.

 

These ways of viewing things in terms of external objects are easy to accept for most anyone educated in the scientific materialist view. What appears as solid is mostly empty space when we zoom in far enough. What seems static is actually constantly vibrating, emitting radiation, and degrading. What seems singular is actually the product of many processes, and is in communication and connection with many other processes. The VR environment makes these ways of seeing things experientially palpable in a direct way.

 

When we consider solidity, permanence, and independence in terms of one’s own body, it may be a little more challenging for some people. Seeing the lack of solidity of the body, its impermanence, and its connectedness to things that are beyond it can be destabilizing and threatening. In the virtual environment of Ripple, these same insights can be playful, beautiful, and liberating.

 

When we consider solidity, permanence, and independence in terms of one’s subjective sense of self, it can also be challenging. The absence of a solid, lasting, and independent self is one of the main assertions of Buddhism, and the process of recognizing selflessness (Skt. anatman) is as complicated or as simple as the habits of the person holding to such a misconception. Again, in the context of Ripple, the goal is to have some recognition of these insights about one’s sense of self through simple play, beauty, and embodied relational practice.

Dedication

The third principle is a conclusion or dedication. Whatever we’ve done, we dedicate the benefit. We say, “May whatever virtue and goodness be offered as a cause for the awakening of all beings.” Just like how we began, we end in the same way, with this motivation to benefit all beings. We close Ripple with some form of dedication in this way.

 

If these three things are present, then whatever you’re doing is a Dharma practice, a practice that cuts through self-deception and leads to wisdom. You can be washing the dishes, raising a child, or sitting down like a paperweight practicing meditation. In the beginning of the day, you wake up, and you have this motivation. During the middle of the day, you’re confused or distracted, but you’re constantly trying to remember the view, remember your own mind’s nature, remember the union of compassion and emptiness, or at the very least, remembering the impermanence of all things. At the end of the day, you dedicate whatever goodness there has been.

 

This is simple kind of typology that makes it easy to distinguish whether we are practicing in a in a genuine way or not.  Ripple is explicitly in line with these principles.

Training in the Basic Gesture

After setting the stage in the first two scenes, the facilitator leads a training in the “basic gesture,” also called the “tonglen motion.” This is a method of integrating mind, breath, and body.  

Mind and Breath

“Taking and Sending” (Tib. tonglen) can be taught and practiced on different levels. What most people know and associate with tonglen is on the level of the Mahāyāna, where it is a practice of using the breath to exchange oneself with another. In this practice we flip the normal habit of cherishing oneself as being most important and instead cherish the other as being most important. We use the breath to imagine breathing in the suffering of another, and we breathe out our virtue, goodness, lifeforce, whatever is most dear. We imagine breathing it out as a kind of white moonlight. And we breathe in a dark, cloudy, polluted light that is carrying the suffering of the other.

 

There are a lot of variations of this. Sometimes it’s going into your heart center and melting, or sometimes it’s blowing apart your self-cherishing habit. Sometimes it’s more gentle and less dualistic.

 

The point is that we’re taking in people’s suffering, and we’re offering our virtue. Consequently, when people hear tonglen practice mentioned in the context of Ripple, they may feel uncertain or hesitant. But that’s only one way of practicing, and that’s not what is done in Ripple.

 

Another level of doing tonglen is on the level of the Vajrayāna. That involves a similar kind of exchange with a breath, but generating inner heat.

 

The tonglen practice featured in Ripple is on the level of awareness itself. We are working with the habit of boundary. We breathe out to open our boundary, and we breathe in to open our boundary. Opening on the way out and opening on the way in. It’s not concerned with exchanging karma, goodness, badness, etc. It is an awareness practice of relaxing the boundary between inner and outer. This way of practicing comes primarily from the “Welcoming and Offering” practice in the Open Mindfulness program of Denys Rinpoche.

 

These are the aspects of mind and breath involved in the Basic Gesture.

Body

Concerning the aspect of the body, the arm motion comes from the teachings of the previous Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989). Kalu Rinpoche developed a system of yoga called Nangpe Yoga (Inner Yoga) which was a modification of the inner yogas of Tibetan Buddhism into a form that was more open and available to the public. Normally there are extensive prerequisites to begin practicing the Tibetan inner yogas.

 

In the Nangpe Yoga cycle, Kalu Rinpoche developed a tonglen practice done seated on the floor. As you breathe out and offer, you open your arms and legs. And then as you receive, your arms and legs come back to cross and close. This way of moving allows for a consistent anchor for embodiment, and for the integration of body, breath, and mind.

 

In VR, when participants have learned to coordinate their intention with the rhythm of the movement and breath, the facilitator cues the music so that the heart lights of each person begin to travel outside of their energetic bodies as the first sound begins to play. Based on how far one separates one’s hands and where one is pointing the headset, the heart light will respond accordingly in terms of distance, speed, and location. Participants learn to control this energetic expression and use it to harmonize their mind, breath, and body.

 

In VR, embodiment is a constant challenge. One of the central dynamics of the numadelic design process is resisting the tendency for disembodied, conceptual, visual experience, and bringing the subject back to a non-conceptual and embodied experience, where one feels what one sees. Biofeedback offers potential benefit in this regard, but in lieu of that, we developed the Basic Gesture as a way of making intention manifest as something that can be apparent and subtly sensed by ourselves and others.

Numadelic Design Principles

When one arrives in the space, there are almost no visible objects. There is a panoramic starscape in every direction, without a floor. One has the impression of being one of many heavenly bodies in space. One’s own body is loosely figured as a dynamic cloud of light. Others appear in the same way, each with a glowing sphere of light at the center of the chest, and smaller spheres at the hands (mudra lights). One cannot see one’s own “heart light.”

 

These basics of the design aesthetic demonstrate an implicit design philosophy behind what has been called “numadelics.” These design principles highlight the difference between whether VR is used in a beneficial and authentic way, or whether a given VR experience is actually creating more confusion, suffering and alienation.

 

At the core of the design philosophy are a number of correspondences along an axis of embodiment/immediacy/relational intimacy/non-conceptuality/non-representation. Accordingly, if we are embodied, and if we are experiencing something with immediacy, sensing a subtle intimacy with those around us, and if we are experiencing something that is non-conceptual, and not representational, then VR can be skillful and lead to authentic insight.

 

Normally in VR, the subject is disembodied—we are primarily in our head. We are experiencing things in a disembodied way with concepts and representation. We are already experiencing things in our waking life that are conditioned by concepts and representation, and in VR we go into another representational bubble within the bubble of our waking life habit. Waking life is already virtual reality. Entering a bubble inside of that bubble, we compound confusion.

 

Normally, in VR design, the goal is to make everything look just as real as waking life. We want to represent everything accurately, floor, walls and ceiling. And we also want to represent our body accurately, to have a face that is “mine” and so forth.

 

In aNUma, the design aesthetic comes originally from David Glowacki, inspired by his near-death experience. It is not a coincidence that this aesthetic is very workable for contemplative practice, which is primarily concerned with preparing for the time of death. From the Buddhist perspective, death is an opportunity to let go of all habit, to go beyond dualistic experience to something that is ever-present and continuous, beyond birth and death.

 

The numadelic aesthetic is embodied in a way that points beyond the body. It uses representation to go beyond representation. It creates experiences to go beyond the duality of subject and object, experiencer and experienced. By simply entering the space, before engaging in any practice, there is a tremendous sense of space. One can let go of the conceptual effort that it takes to put everything in its place, to hold reality together, and perceive outer objects, one’s body, and one’s sense of self as being “real.” There is just space, light, and sound in groundless openness.

 

By resisting a representational mode, embodiment is less of a challenge. Each person arises as a cloud of energy with few characteristics. This type of avatar allows people to touch the wholeness of their innate embodiment, regardless of what their body image or physical condition might be. Body dysmorphia, chronic pain, physical challenges and fatigue are often dissipated simply by entering the space. The “cloud body” avatar elicits the innate sense of the body as energy, with fewer limitations and greater immediacy.

 

With less representation and more embodiment, relational intimacy is also facilitated. When limiting the degree of representation, participants have a more authentic feeling of being in their body, and less in their habitual ideas about their body. At the same time, everyone else arises in the same way, indistinguishable from one another. Not only do people feel more authentically in their own body, they feel others sharing this feeling. And not only is this feeling shared, but the anonymity afforded by the common appearance also opens the door to intimacy.

 

Just as the majority of VR design is representational, it is also designed for solitary experiences. And just as going beyond representation opens a space for authentic experience, the collective interpersonal aspect of VR is an essential component of accessing its full potential. As has been noted in the work of Francisco Varela and others, following the work of Merleau-Ponty, our sense of self is deeply connected to our sense of embodiment. And these are developed and rooted in relationship to others. The mind is embodied and relational.

 

Much more can be said about these design principles, especially with regards to how they relate to the Three Bodies (Skt. Trikāya) of a Buddha, and the Three Natures (Skt. Trisvabhāva) of Yogācāra. The point here is that to whatever extent Ripple occasions insight beyond dualistic habit, it’s does so through encouraging embodiment, going beyond representation and concept, developing immediacy, and relational intimacy.  

 

The alternative to these is fixation and addiction to dualistic experience. Whether it is a psychedelic experience or a VR experience, if it remains within the realm of “experience,” it will necessitate maintenance. Better circumstances, faster and more immersive technology, higher doses, etc., become necessary to stay ahead of boredom and fatigue. Of course, at a certain point one will become habituated to Ripple like everything else that has a name, a beginning, and an end. Its benefits will plateau. But the intention of these design principles is to make that plateau happen a little bit further down the road and avoid the pitfalls of fixation and addiction.  

 

The key difference is that erasure is part of the design. There’s an intention to eventually dissolve the whole situation, not to mention taking off the headset. At the end of the day, it’s not about making things more colorful, more evocative, more beautiful, more experiential, more profound—all of this just becomes more and more experience. Experience begins at a certain point of time and ends at another. Even most experiences of “timelessness” that people report on DMT and other psychedelics have a beginning and end.  This is not pristine awareness. Pristine awareness is before and beyond any experience. At a certain point, experience should get out of the way out of itself, if what we’re practicing is genuine dharma. It should erase itself into simplicity without a trace.

 

In creating an experience that aims to go beyond experience itself, we want it to be beautiful. We want it to be evocative and moving, it should foster feelings of connection and joy. Not as ends in themselves, but so that we are inspired to go beyond experience altogether. The trick is to let go completely. To whatever extent that works, then Ripple is an authentic wisdom method.

Preliminaries

Mirroring

The original Ripple experience has two preliminaries, “Mirroring” and “Box Breathing.”  The initial mirroring is an icebreaker. This gets people in a playful mood and illustrates the nature of movement in the space. One person moves and leaves trails with their hand lights that gradually dissolve, like painting with water in space. Their partner mirrors their movement. Then they switch, and finally they move in attunement without a leader or follower.

 

On a deeper level, this practice shows how mind and body are connected. The trails show the principle of what is called in Tibetan “lung sem yerme.”  Lung is wind, the subtle wind of the body, and sem is mind, and yerme is inseparable.

 

Wherever our mind goes, our wind flows. When those are in harmony, we can feel it. And there is a sense of flow. But when we are lost in concept, mind is going and the wind is seemingly trying to catch up. This is demonstrated very directly in the VR space. If you’re stressed or excited, you can see the trails indicate that mind state. The environment itself gives you an indication of mind and wind. As wind is the subtle aspect of the mind in the body, you could simply say this is training in integrating mind and body in a playful way.

 

Box Breathing

As an extension of that, we then do what is called “Box Breathing,” which is a more modern term for an ancient practice. In the tradition of Yantra Yoga taught by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche (1938-2019), this is called “The Four Profound Applications”(Tib: Zabmo Jorwa Shiden). This method trains breath retention and explores the four stages of breathing in, holding, breathing out, and then holding empty.

 

Gradually expanding and exploring the holds in different ways is a method to encourage wind and mind to integrate. When wind and mind are integrated, there are any of the three experiences of clarity, non-conceptuality, and joy. These are symptoms of the natural state, when body, wind, and mind are in tune. This is a deliberate yogic breath method (Skt. pranayama). Here it’s very brief, and it’s not something that anyone would even particularly notice. But hopefully, after they’ve done, there’s a little bit more feeling of being in the body, and the presence of awareness.

 

At the end of this practice the script reads:

 

Finally, just let your arms rest at your sides.

Breathe naturally.

Feel the spaciousness of the body, allowing it to breathe from every pore.

What does it feel like to be grounded yet suspended in space? 

 

This approach to embodiment, revealing the natural condition of the body that is both spacious and clearly felt, is critical to maintaining an authentic relationship with practice in VR, and yogic practice in general.

These conclude the preliminaries for the session.

Practice One: Dissolving with the Outbreath

Then we begin the main practices of Ripple. The first practice is done alone, facing outward into space. This uses the tonglen motion explained above.

 

The origin of this practice is a method called “Dissolving with the Outbreath” found in various Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen lineages as a preliminary to nature of mind practice. It was widely taught and popularized in the West by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and is a central practice in Open Mindfulness.  

 

As you exhale, you feel the texture of the exhalation. The breath and awareness are mixed as you begin to exhale. As you finish exhaling, the breath dissolves. Awareness alone remains. And then you breathe in, but without specific focus on the inbreath, it comes in naturally. And then again, breath and awareness go out together. The breath falls away, empty. Awareness remains, suspended.

 

This gives you a chance to experience resting without reference, but without getting lost. You can explore not having any support, and then again you can connect with the support of the outbreath. You can gradually feel what it’s like to be groundless, suspended, without getting overwhelmed or lost. This process of pendulation gradually erases itself so that over time, you don’t worry about the breath at all, and you just remain in openness.

 

If the mind starts to move a little bit, if you need more support, then you engage with the outbreath, and release. Eventually you can just do one or two breaths and then just rest. This practice is featured in the aNUma experience called “Boundless” in the Clear Light Program for terminal illness.

 

In Ripple, we combined “Dissolving with the Outbreath” with “Giving and Receiving.” When you open, the breath goes out and the motion of the arms causes the heart light to flow out into the space in front of you. When you rest at the end of the outbreath, the light dissolves. This gives a taste of what it’s like to be suspended without support or reference point. And then as you breathe in, the light emerges from empty space.

 

This spontaneous emergence of light from space is a motif throughout Ripple, as is the dissolution of light into openness. We will return specifically to dissolution and spontaneity in the context of Practices 5-7.

 

The script reads:

 

Turn outward and face away from the group, feeling your hands on your heart.

Mix your mind with your heart, and feel the heart breathing. 

Take a breath in, and as you breathe out, slowly move your arms in the tonglen motion. 

Breathe in, gathering your hands back to your heart.

Breathing out, separating the hands and opening, offering.

Breathing in and gathering in.

 

At the end of the exhalation, pause and rest your arms for a few moments in stillness.

Notice how your light dissolves into space when you are still.  

 

As you inhale and bring your hands to your heart, notice your light reappear from space and enter your body. 

As you exhale and separate your hands, imagine offering your heart energy, pouring it out into space. 

As your heart dissolves into openness, pause for as long as you like.  

 

As you inhale, receive light from the space around you.

Feel its gentle luminosity flow into you. 

Move gently and smoothly.  

 

If at any point you need to rest, bring your hands to stillness in prayer position.  

Notice whatever resistance you feel to letting go.

Resistance to letting in.  

 

We pour ourselves into space, and as we receive, we allow ourselves to become more spacious.  

Inner space and outer space, pouring into one another like water into water.

 

 

This image of pouring water into water is very common in the oral instructions of many Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen lineages. The main point here is to work with going beyond habitual boundaries, sensing the deep habit of separating inner and outer, and exploring a simple relaxation into openness without support.

 

Bring your hands to stillness, resting in prayer position.   

Once again feel your body from the inside, its vitality and spaciousness. 

Slowly turn back and face the group, simply observing.

 

Make a gesture to acknowledge the others here with you.

 

See if you can feel your heart within your body. Attune to that inner sense, noticing the heart lights as they reappear from tiny seeds of light.

 

After this practice, everyone turns back to face the group. The heart centers have disappeared in the resting part of the transition, and at this point we witness the heart centers of everyone come back as tiny seeds of light.

 

There’s a lot of different moments in Ripple that are evocative of Deity Yoga. Deity Yoga is comprised of two stages, creation and completion. The creation stage depends on recognizing the view of emptiness mentioned above, and manifesting one’s body, voice, and mind as the body, mantra, and wisdom mind of a Buddha. The completion stage involves the actual manifestation of those as the actual body, voice, and mind of a Buddha, whether through effortless resting in pristine awareness or though inner yogic practice. 

 

In manifesting as a Buddha out of open emptiness, the first point of reference is a seed syllable, a pluripotent drop of resonant light. We will develop this motif more fully in Practice Six. Here we are building on the sense of spontaneity of the heart light emerging out of the empty space in front. Now we invite the somatic sense of that same spontaneous presence in the center of the body. In various presentations in both the Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā lineages, pristine awareness has a physical energetic correlate within the center of the chest at the level of the heart.

 

Other than in the context of practices where one’s heart light travels out into the space in front, one cannot see one’s own heart light. One can see the heart lights of others, however, and in this moment of mirroring minds to one other, we can sense the dynamic display of one’s own mind within one’s own body. This dynamic returns in a potent way in Practice Five when we witness our own dissolution through the eyes of our partner.

Practice Two: Giving and Receiving as a Group

The group is now gathered in a circle, facing the center. The script reads:

 

Feel the presence of those around you.

Now we will practice giving and receiving in unison.  

Breathing out, separate your hands in the same motion as before,

so that your hearts merge in the center. 

Breathing in, draw your hands back to your heart. 

As you breathe out, try to synchronize your breath and movement with the others in the circle, sharing your heart into the center. 

 

Breathing in. . . and out.  

Rest your awareness at the place where the lights overlap.

What does this shared center feel like?  

 

As you breathe out, infuse your offering with your best qualities:

your lifeforce, your virtue, your best intentions. 

As you breathe in, how does it feel to receive the blessing of the circle? 

 

Notice any resistance you feel in your body.

Be gentle with yourself without forcing.  

If you fall out of sync, or if you need a rest, just bring your hands to prayer position, observing the others. Rejoin them whenever you are ready.  

 

Now bring your hands to rest at your heart once again. Have you noticed how this group practice has impacted the colors of your bodies? 

 

When this practice is done well, there is a sense of sharing and receiving blessings in a prayer circle. The heart lights coalesce in the center at the end of the outbreath, and then differentiate once again on the inbreath. The reference point of one’s own light is lost in union with all of the others and then spontaneously emerges from that shared center. The practice also develops the power of intention, and may highlight resistance or obstacles to giving or receiving from others.

Practice Three: Coalescence

The next practice is called coalescence. The script reads:

Form a circle.

Drop your hands to your sides so that your mudra lights overlap with those of the others on either side of you, as if you were holding hands.  

 

Now, I’d like to invite you to exhale and take a small step forward,

noticing as your boundaries begin to merge with the boundaries of the others.  

Where does your light body end, and the others begin? 

 

Move forward together, coming fully into the center. 

Allow your light bodies to overlap completely,

with your heart light as close to the others as it can be. 

As you rest in the space of this collective coalescence,

feel your energy merged with the energy of the others.  

 

Now extend your arms and let them move freely. 

Twist, move, and play in whatever way feels natural and expressive.

 

Finally, let’s gather our hands to our hearts and rest, breathing naturally. 

Take a few steps out of the center.

This practice was originally developed by Dave Glowacki and others for the Isness experience. It remains one of the more powerful experiences for people in the numadelic context. As Glowacki et al. have written, “energetic coalescence” is a novel phenomenological experience that is made possible in VR, where one’s sense of embodiment overlaps with that of others, occupying the same virtual space from different geographical locations. This practice gives an uncanny sense of union, suspending the habitual sense of inner and outer, self and other. It plays an important part in the overall arc of Ripple, setting the stage for Practices 5-7. The theme of union and subsequent differentiation hinted at in the previous practice now becomes a full body experience, with one’s entire avatar coming to overlap with the energy bodies of all of the other participants. 

The Four Empowerments

“Union” is a central theme in the Tantric teachings of Buddhism. One way of approaching what is meant by this term is through the context of the Four Empowerments (Tib. དབང་བཞི་, wang shyi, Skt. abhiṣeka). These empowerments are at the core of the tantric path, and are drawn from a rich and vast context.  At the risk of grossly diminishing that context, the progression of practices in Ripple can at least introduce the organic structure of the Vajrayana path of initiation.  Although these initiations sequentially build on one another, they are continually being deepened and experienced on new levels throughout the journey. The four empowerments work with the dimensions of body, speech, mind, and the three dimensions together as one.

Vase Empowerment

The first empowerment is called the “Vase” empowerment, and purifies obscurations and habitual tendencies of the body. Body here refers to the physical body, but also anything with a shape and form, both internal and external. Through the journey of this level of initiation, one’s habitual tendencies to grasp to substantial characteristics of form are exhausted, and pure non-conceptual appearances dawn.

Simply entering the numadelic space is akin to being introduced, albeit in a limited way, to this level of empowerment. Habitual notions of solidity, scale, direction, perspective and so forth can no longer be taken for granted. Similar to what is practiced in dream yoga, manifesting, changing, and multiplying appearances is simply part of the program. One’s own body as a diaphanous cloud of energy is sensed to be pure, meaning free of conceptual superimpositions. Freedom from these types of limitations is a large part of the first empowerment.

Being able to “think outside of the box” in this way is not uncommon in our culture. Understanding that what is “up” for someone in the US is “down” for someone in India is relatively easy to accept. But being fully liberated from notions of solidity, scale, and the relative nature of perception can require sustained practice. This introduction opens the doorway to the practice of deity yoga. Perhaps VR can serve as a helpful preliminary to this empowerment and the practice of deity yoga, viewing oneself as a Buddha in an environment of pure appearance beyond concept.

The Secret Empowerment

The second empowerment is called “The Secret Empowerment,” and relates to the dimension of speech. Speech refers to the energy of the body, and includes the spoken word. When the dimension of speech is purified, the sense of the subtle body emerges. Much of this process depends on transcending notions of totem and taboo, purity and impurity, pain and pleasure. Much of the practice involves working with the breath and subtle wind in the body, as well as mantra recitation.

In Ripple, we build on the sense of the body as pure beyond concept (part of the vase empowerment) with the box breathing exercise, breathing in the tonglen motion, dissolving with the outbreath, and holding empty in dissolution. All of these breathing techniques train in integrating the blissful energetic dimension of the breath with the fresh vision of the body as insubstantial energy in space.

The Knowledge-Wisdom Empowerment

The third empowerment relates to union, and the dimension of mind. Through experiences of agonizing loss and blissful attainment, the unconditioned space of the heart begins to reveal itself. Mind begins to know itself beyond conditions. Union refers to the union of bliss and emptiness, clarity and emptiness, awareness and emptiness. Practices on this level provide examples for the actual nature of mind, which is the subject of the fourth empowerment.

In Ripple, the moments of coalescence mentioned above, as well as the partner exercise in Practice 5, introduce the flavor of this level of practice. In Practice 6, which is the culmination of the Ripple journey, we are introduced more fully to the unconditioned space of the heart, the example of wisdom that offers a potential doorway to the fourth empowerment. Ripple is primarily a series of practices of union. From the standpoint of the path, they are occasions for stepping beyond reference. From the standpoint of the goal, they are celebrations of the magic dance of emptiness and form. 

The Word Empowerment

The fourth empowerment is called the “word” empowerment, or sometimes simply “The Fourth.” This is the introduction of the nature of mind itself. Based on the previous empowerments, one is able to rest as unconditioned awareness. This is the view mentioned earlier, and is the intent of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen practice. Because resting in the nature of mind is unconditioned, there are no methods for engaging in this level of practice. There is no object, no goal, nor practitioner.

 

Experiences of unbounded consciousness, bliss, space, noetic import, unity, timelessness, ineffability and so forth are the province of the third empowerment, and can have life-changing benefits. Nevertheless, such experiences are occasioned, endure, and come to an end, while the nature of mind is ever-present. The fourth empowerment is not something that happens in time, in a sense it has always and already happened.

 

As such, it is profoundly anti-climactic, and as Andrew Holecek writes, this can be “a real letdown for the ego. So ego readily steps in to edit the practice for its own climax.” This is always the risk. As was mentioned in the section on “Design Principles” above, it is crucial to go beyond “experience.” Even a “nondual” and “timeless” experience that has a beginning, middle, and end is still an experience, and still requires maintenance and effort, and is therefore still something the ego can appropriate and distort.

 

Whether or not Ripple or any other method offers an opportunity for recognizing the unconditioned nature of mind is solely a question of the extent to which that method is able to erase itself, the extent to which the practitioner is able to move from transparency to absence, and the extent to which all of this is recognized as the connate union of clarity and emptiness.

Practice Four: Giving and Receiving in Pairs

 

The script continues:

 

Find your partner. 

Try to stand in a way that you can see your partner but no one else. 

Now move close enough so that your outstretched hands are almost touching your partner’s heart. 

Bring your hands back to your heart and rest in presence.

Now we will practice giving and receiving in pairs,

exchanging our heart energy with our partner.  

 

Begin by inhaling.

As you exhale, make your tonglen motion, separating your hands and directing your gaze so that your light comes to rest in the heart center of your partner’s body.  

 

Breathing in and out, exchanging your light with your partner’s,

synchronizing with their breath and movement. 

 

What is it like to offer yourself completely? 

Welcome their essence into your heart.

Offer your vitality, your merit, your best heart wish. 

 

Notice any resistance, and feel how this might register in your body.

If you need to pause, bring your hands to prayer position,

and begin moving again when you are ready.  

 

Can you receive your partner without resistance?

Can you offer yourself without reservation? 

What comes up for you in this exchange? 

 

As we transition to the next practice,

bring your hands to your heart and rest in stillness. 

 

A great deal of the territory of the third empowerment is relational in nature. Although the rarified sexual yogas of union tend to figure prominently in traditional discussions of this territory, these are simply one method of practice among many. What seems to be crucial however, is the relational nature of the third empowerment. It is in being seen by another, contacting and connecting with another, witnessing the birth and death of the other, that the naked presence our heart-mind comes to the fore. The divesting of what covers the most subtle layers of the conditioned mind can be both blissful and agonizing. Whether it is through love, loss, betrayal, devotion, or any and all of these at once, the emotional and conceptual veils that obscure our essential nature can be lifted. The relational nature of embodiment is again central here.

 

Being able to rest in the place that hurts the most, being blown away by devotion or love, or losing that which is most dear, all have the potential open a space beyond concept. Again, this is called the “example wisdom,” a space that is the product of circumstance, something that happens in time, yet goes beneath or beyond that which is familiar, potentially opening a doorway to pristine awareness.

 

Here in Ripple, we touch this space through exchanging our heart light with a partner. Building on the clarity-emptiness of numadelic embodiment (the first empowerment), coupling with the breath and energy yoga of the tonglen motion (the second empowerment), we explore the boundary of self and other, inside and outside, giving and receiving in union with a wisdom partner (third empowerment).

 

This can be done with the lights crossing in the space between and entering the body of the partner on the outbreath, or one person can breathe in as the other breathes out, and the heart lights overlap as one light.

 

Participants not only have a glimpse into this kind of sacred interpenetration, but equally important is noticing whatever resistance may come up to offering or receiving. Participants may have feelings of connection, but equally they may have feelings of fear, of not wanting to be known, entered, or sensed.  It may be easy to receive, but not to give, and so on. All of the obstacles to the practice are equally a part of the practice, and give a sense of the landscape of the heart space and the patterning of grasping that each of us carry in a unique way. In this way the heart space is sensitized, and an intimate relationship is established with the partner that is then carried into the next practice, when we watch them dissolve.

Practice Five: Ripple

Final Dissolution

The third empowerment is as much about dissolution as it is about union. Indeed, union occurs on the deepest level through dissolution. Two things do not become one, but rather by dissolving, what was never separate is recognized as connate.  As was mentioned above, one cannot see one’s own heart in the numadelic space. In order to experience our own dissolution, we witness it through the mirror of our partner. 

 

Just as you can’t see your own heart, our own mind is not a tangible object to be apprehended. But we can see the reflection of our own light in the eyes of another, in the eyes of the beloved, in the eyes of the teacher. You can see your own nature being reflected to you from the heart of the other. By witnessing the dissolution of the other, we can glimpse our own unconditioned nature.

 

Just so, at the time of death, when sitting in the presence of someone who has reached full acceptance of their mortality, witnessing their final passing can be received as a great gift. Witnessing the death of a practitioner is a great blessing to everyone present.

 

Having developed an intimate relationship with our partner, now we sit down and offer each other the gift of our dissolution:

 

Allow your hands to rest on your lap and sit comfortably.

 

For the next few minutes, rest your gaze on the heart of your partner without letting it stray.

Follow the pulsation of your partner’s heart, which is a mirror of your own. 

 

Breathe in as it expands, breathe out as it dissolves.  

 

Feeling and holding the presence of your partner in front of you,

make the wish to offer them the gift of your presence as you watch them fade.  

 

There’s nothing to do but let go again and again.

Relaxing and letting your body release with your outbreath.

Letting go of any grasping in the body and mind.

 

Breathing in and out. 

Letting go of reference points, relaxing with the outbreath. 

Now as the last trace of reference recedes,

it vanishes like a pearl dropped into the sea. 

What remains? 

 

Again, building on the clarity-emptiness of virtual embodiment, we use the breath as a method to integrate body, breath, and awareness. As the last representation of body dissolves, the breath expires, awareness alone remains, suspended in darkness. 

 

The expansion and contraction of the heart light was inspired by Dave Glowacki’s near-death experience. It also very directly evokes what is called the yoga of Clear Light (Skt: prabhāsvara, Tib: འོད་གསལ), as well as the dissolution phase of many deity yoga practices. Clear light yoga is one of the famous “six yogas” of Mahayana Tantra. It is a practice for bringing lucidity into the deep sleep state. In clear light yoga we practice expanding and dissolving luminosity into the heart center, and carry that unconditioned awareness into the sleep state.

 

In deep sleep there is no content, and because there are no objects, there is no sense of self. Because our awareness is habitually divided into subject and object, when there are no objects, we typically fall unconscious. The yoga of clear light is to remain as awareness, without depending on dualistic consciousness. By training in the deep sleep state, although there is nobody there and nothing to know, a pure knowing without an object can arise. The full fruition of this knowing is called clear light.

 

A similar thing happens at the time of death. When all of the senses dissolve, the elements of the body dissolve, consciousness itself dissolves, along with all reference points. All of the winds that carry conceptual habits have dissolved and an unadorned luminosity dawns. This is called the bardo of dharmatā. Just as is the case with deep sleep, if we are not prepared for this, we don’t recognize it. With training, we can recognize and abide within that. Being able to abide in that way has tremendous power to benefit ourselves and others.

 

The line, “as the last trace of reference recedes, it vanishes like a pearl dropped into the sea” comes from a teaching on the deity yoga of Avalokiteshvara given by Lama Wangchen Rinpoche.  As was mentioned before, in the context of deity yoga, after the generation phase of exploring oneself as a Buddha in a mandala, you dissolve the entire visualization. The environment dissolves into the retinue, the retinue dissolves into your body of light, this light dissolves into the heart center, then into a mantra and a seed syllable, and the syllable dissolves into a tiny drop of light. And then that drop of light dissolves completely into emptiness.

 

At that moment, because of everything that you’ve invested in the generation stage, the rug is pulled out from under your feet. Suddenly the conceptual mind doesn’t know what to do, there’s nothing to hold on to anymore. Before that space is filled in by conceptual movement, there is a gap, just like at the end of the outbreath in Practice One. When the light dissolves, there’s a gap, and we can recognize that and remain suspended in that gap. With practice, we can remain longer and longer in that suspended state, free of concept.

 

Pointing Out the View

The capacity to remain resting in the non-conceptual, vast, lucid and empty essence of mind develops with training. But even if one is able to rest for only a moment, there is an opportunity to for this essence to recognize itself as pristine wisdom. At this point we move from the Third empowerment to the Fourth, the Word empowerment. “Word” generally refers to a transmission using “Pointing-Out Instructions.”  There are endless pointing out instructions, and often they are nonverbal. What follows is an attempt at such an instruction given in Ripple, inspired by the words of many masters of the past:

 

Rest awareness, free of reference. 

Resting as pure being.  

Let go of being. 

Not nothing, there is lucidity in space,

Naked knowing in openness.  

 

At this point the environment has gone black. Because of the evocative visual and somatic dynamics of the preceding practices, this moment of total dissolution elicits an even and open resting in the basis of mind, relatively free of concepts and points of reference. It is natural to have some impression of “having arrived” at a state or place of rest. The sense of “pure being” without boundary and without “other” is apparent. But this is just a set up.

 

The next instruction to “let go of being” is intended to undercut any subtle identification that remains. When resting as “pure being” or “pure consciousness” or “boundless bliss” there can be a subtle identification as one who is resting in something. Or if no duality can be found, there may be a subtle witnessing, where such a state has a beginning, timeless duration, and end. The instruction to “let go of being” can cut through such subtle identification and open the door to pristine wisdom (Tib: yeshe, Skt: jñana). Pristine wisdom is unconditioned, it is not the product of a process or the effect of a cause. It is not composed of conditioned parts, and cannot fall apart. It is ever-present, even within delusion. Even in this moment of reading and writing.

 

At this point, the abiding nature can be recognized. “Not nothing, there is lucidity in space, naked knowing in openness” is the view of clarity and emptiness in union mentioned above in the section on “The View.” Beyond the eight extremes of arising and ceasing, permanence and non-existence, coming and going, and being one thing or many things, space and lucidity are not exclusive, naked knowing and openness are a beginningless union.

Practice 6: Rearising

The Basis

The recognition of the abiding nature as clarity and emptiness in union naturally expresses itself as compassion. Compassion can of course include the wish to relieve suffering, but is fundamentally a radiant loving awareness that creatively imbues appearances with whatever might be beneficial. This benefit can be temporary, like relieving suffering, or ultimate, like pointing to the true nature. Insight and compassion arise together because the insight that goes beyond boundary and limitation removes any restriction, it is connection beyond concept.

 

When we look at the mind, we see that it is essentially empty of any essence. But yet it’s nature shines from that empty essence with clarity. And this shining forth is expressed as unimpeded, all-pervasive, altruistic love. Deity Yoga is another way of exploring this threefold understanding of mind as essence, nature, and compassion. As was mentioned earlier, deity yoga is comprised of two stages, creation and completion. The dissolution of Practice 5 is a type of completion stage practice. Practice 6 is a type of generation stage practice.

 

The Three Samādhi

Following the typology of the three samādhi (Skt. trisamādhi; Tib. ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་རྣམ་པ་གསུམ) found in Mahayoga, the creation stage of deity yoga begins with the recognition of essence, the emptiness of all things. This is called the “samādhi of suchness,” and is the ultimate cause of insight and true freedom that is our inherent essence.

 

This is followed by the “samādhi of total illumination,” where that space is naturally permeated by the resonance and radiance of altruistic love.

 

The union of these samādhi is “the causal samādhi,” where that radiant emptiness manifests as a tangible point of light, a resonating and radiating seed-syllable that transforms into the Buddha in the form of a deity.

 

This notion of seed syllable was introduced at the end of Practice One, where we witnessed the heart lights emerge from emptiness as tiny drops of light. What has been hinted at previously is now fully developed. Embodiment is a function of radiant emptiness in compassionate union.

 

The script continues:

 

Place a seed in this space,

an intention to unfold your potential and to benefit others. 

Can you feel it radiating out from the space of your heart?

Resonating all around you? 

 

Intentional Embodiment

At the moment the point of light emerges from space, the music begins, giving an experiential taste of how emptiness naturally resonates and radiates with altruistic love. Once again, this experience is only possible through witnessing the body of another arising out of emptiness. Our nature is known as emptiness-compassion in embodied relationship. 

 

This process of embodiment is guided by intention. The intention that was voiced at the beginning of the experience is invited to return, and forms the basis of relational embodiment in the space. Whether it is at the time of death, or whether we are practicing to preparing for that time, whatever motivation we have developed will emerge out of emptiness and take form. If we have a confused or distorted intention, this will impact the form that emerges. Here we are encouraging a reflection on how an altruistic intention gives rise to a luminous, empty, and compassionate form.  

 

According to the tradition, if we have rehearsed this intentional embodiment again and again, if we have certainty that the reason why we are taking form is to benefit others, at the time of death it will naturally happen. This is why the moment of death is seen as such an opportunity for spiritual practice. It is the time when one has the capacity to make one’s intention fully manifest. If one has stability in resting in the empty essence of clear light, and if that is permeated with boundless compassion, embodiment can be intentional and beneficial. This is the notion of a tulku, or intentional rebirth.

 

The question remains, if we are in a space of total freedom, how do we choose to manifest?

Practice 7: Vipashyana

At this point we begin an integration practice, developing more familiarity with the process of dissolution into emptiness and rearising. The heart light of one’s partner begins to expand and then contract to a vanishing point, gradually growing in size with each expansion, and returning each time to total dissolution. Eventually the heart light of one’s partner fills the whole field of view, and vanishes repeatedly. It then decreases in size and eventually stabilizes. Practice 7 is a combination of two insight (Skt: vipashyana) practices found in the Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen traditions. The first is called, “Abiding, Going, and Coming.” The second is called “Stillness, Movement, and Awareness.” The script reads:

Abiding, Going, and Coming

 

Where does the light come from? 

Place your awareness at its source, before any concept.  

Where does the light go?

Mix your awareness with the light and rest in the space of disappearance.  

 

When we follow the disappearance of something, whether it is a visual form, a sound, or a thought, the conceptual, representational mind loses its reference point. When the object disappears for a subject, the dualistic habit of subject-object relation is temporarily suspended. It is generally filled in by immediately grasping to a thought or emotion, but with practice one can notice a non-conceptual gap. Within that gap, wisdom can emerge.

 

The same is true with looking at the origin of something. When we look to see the origin of thought, there is an inconceivable space where we can learn to think unthinkable things. These are tricks that use the analytical mind to erase itself.

Stillness, Movement, and Awareness

The script continues:

 

Watch this dance of coming and going, presence and absence.

Do you sense what is continuous between what is and what is not? 

Between stillness and movement,

Feel that thread of continuity and the unbroken stream of your heart wish.

 

In the “Final Dissolution” and “Pointing Out the View” of Practice Five, the experience of non-conceptual emptiness-clarity in union was introduced on the basis of stillness. This corresponds to the first of the Four Yogas of Mahāmudrā Practice, called “One-Pointedness” (Skt. ekāgra, Tib. རྩེ་གཅིག་), parallel to the Four Yogas of Dzogchen Semde. In one-pointedness, one learns to rest in emptiness-clarity as the nature of mind. This resting then matures to the second yoga called “Simplicity” (Skt. niṣprapānca, Tib. སྤྲོས་བྲལ་). Here, “like a fish jumping out of water,” the recognition of empty-clarity does not depend on stillness, but is integrated with movement. When one can recognize both the empty essence and the dynamic nature as one, the continuity of awareness is highlighted. Awareness knows stillness in movement. At this point, anything can be the basis of practice, and one is no longer tethered to formal sessions, let alone in VR.

 

Conclusion: Like a Ripple in Still Water

 

Your nature shines from an inconceivable source,

illuminating everything and everyone around you.  

 

Like a ripple in still water, when no stone is tossed.  

Everything returns and emerges in luminous play.  

 

Since the source is inconceivable,

its aspects are inexhaustible.

 

The first line has been explained previously in Practice 6. The second line was suggested by Dave Glowacki as an example of a Zen Koan. It illustrates the magical spontaneous presence that emerges from Stillness, Movement, and Awareness, and was originally authored by Jerry Garcia.

 

The concluding lines are the immortal vajra words of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (1931-2011) from his introduction to White Sail: Crossing the Waves of Ocean Mind to the Serene Continent of the Triple Gems.

Final Embodiment and Dedication

 

At this point the energetic bodies of all of the participants return, as well as their mudra lights on the hands.

Everyone is encouraged to join their mudra lights in the center of the space, developing a flocking phenomenon that was featured in the Isness VR experience. In the midst of this collected coalescing of lights emerges the energetic thread that was used at the beginning of the experience to hold the intentions of the group. Through this union of light, intention again emerges. The energetic thread is expanded and the group members bring a piece of it to rest on their laps, again connecting everyone across space. The facilitator guides a dedication, asking everyone to gather up whatever goodness and benefit there has been in the session and then to offer it in every direction as a cause for one’s own awakening and the awakening of all beings. The session then closes with a sharing circle.

 

 

I apologize for belaboring all of these points. If Ripple is effective as a genuine practice, it is because all of the theory behind it is invisible, implicit, and totally unnecessary for the practitioner to understand. But yet any power of the practice comes precisely from these background details, and it is important to acknowledge the richness of the lineages that inspired it.

 

Composed by Lama Karma at Palpung Thubten Chöling on the auspicious day of Lha Bab Düchen, 2023.