RETREAT—Discover Your Inner Light, Part 2

Experiencing our authentic being through the teachings of the Six Lamps and Six Lokas.

In 2023, Rinpoche combined the teachings on the Six Lamps with breathing exercises from Tummo, thus emphasizing the benefits of both aspects of knowledge and practice on the experience of the nature of the mind. This year the Six Lamps will be completed and Rinpoche will also begin with the Six Lokas in this context.Participation in the retreat open to all.

Lamps light our way in the dark, and they illuminate themselves at the same time. The Instructions on the Six Lamps is an important dzogchen work, and is one of the root texts of the Zhang Zhung Nyengyü. This teaching describes the principals of recognizing the natural state and outlines how they may be experienced by the practitioner. This text describes Trekchö and Thögal practices as revealed by Tapihritsa to Gyerpung Nangzher Löpo. are described. According to Bön dzogchen teachings, the suffering of sentient beings can be traced to a single cause: our failure to comprehend that internal and external appearances are only a manifestation of innate awareness. The teachings of the Six Lamps guide us to experience pure vision by recognizing the clear light of self-awareness in all levels of our being: The lamps include: The Lamp of the Abiding Base, The Lamp of the Fleshy Heart, The Lamp of the Smooth White Channel, The Water-Lamp of the Far Reaching Lasso, The Lamp of the Direct Introduction to the Pure Realms, and The Lam of the Bardo.

Negative emotions such as anger, greed, and pride cause suffering in our lives. According to the Tibetan spiritual traditions, these emotions trap us in the endless cycle of cyclic existence: samsara. The teachings of the six realms, or six lokas, give us the means to profoundly recognize the negative emotions, clear them, and transform them into positive qualities that can empower and enrich our lives. According to these teachings, every sentient beings is born into one of six realms, each of which is associated with a given emotion:

1. The hell realms are characterized by anger
2. The hungry ghost realm, by greed
3. The animal realm, by ignorance
4. The human realm, by jealousy
5. The demi-god realm, by pride
6. The god realm, by lethargic pleasure

All six realms are part of the normal human experience and are contained within us, and are expressed in the world we inhabit.