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You should read the section of the book that talks about Jhanas. Outside the context of the book, Culadasa has also been talking a lot about the value of doing metta practices, which are very much related to Vajrayana practices. Another thing you will find common to Vajrayana and to the presentation Culadasa is offering is the emphasis on the availability of awakening in this lifetime.

As for Vajrayana and superstition, remember the context that it comes from. Both Vajrayana and Vipassana practices are at their essence practices that work on the mind, as opposed to in the mind: the goal is not to “figure out” emptiness and thereby have realizations, but rather to do what you can to get your mind into a place where when it sees the contradictions inherent in the deceptive view of reality, it is able to take them and run with them, instead of brushing them aside as distractions.

If you think of it that way, and think of the “superstitious” part of the Vajrayana practice as a story told for the benefit of a particular audience, then you can readily see the essence of the Vajrayana practices, and see that their function is to work on the mind, to work on breaking down the obstacles to awakening.

In that sense, many of the practices taught in the Vajrayana lineages would work quite well when combined with the techniques that Culadasa is teaching. You may find in the process of progressing through stage six that a lot of the stuff that you’d heard about in the Vajrayana teachings is actually stuff that you can perceive directly in meditation. The more metaphorical, visual stuff may suddenly appear to be a tool that you can use to address a particular thing that is happening either on or off the cushion.

So if you are attracted to what you have learned of Vajrayana, I wouldn’t abandon that. But you must get over any resistance you have to doing the work of progressing through the stages. The ten stages that Culadasa is teaching are virtually identical to the 9 stages taught by Asanga and Kamalashila, both of whom are in the Vajrayana tradition. His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaches these same stages. The main difference with Culadasa’s teaching is the degree of detail, and the addition of the clear distinction between attention and awareness, both of which are really helpful for making real progress.

My experience is that the practices that are taught in Vajrayana, particularly surrender, will help you to make rapid progress in the ten stages. The more you can let go of the idea that you need to improvise, and instead look at the ten stages as a training framework that will bring you to the point of being able to improvise, the more you will be able to actually hear the instructions correctly and put them into practice correctly, and the more you do that, the more quickly you will progress.

My experience is that I have a strong tendency to hear one thing and understand another, and wind up doing the wrong practice for a while until I hear the instruction again and see the contradiction between what I am being told to do and what I’m actually doing. The more you can surrender to the process and not do this, the easier it will be. One of the instructions that I missed early on is that there is a lot of joy to be had on the way, and that we should seek it out. There’s no reason for the process to feel like a painful slog. Have fun with it!

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by  Ted Lemon.

Mahamudra, Dzogchen, Shikantaza and such are both very subtle and deep practices. They are certainly accessible once you could successfully engage with them.

I would personally make two suggestions before engaging in those:

1. Stabilize attention
2. Really clarify and study the view and instructions related to the one you want to pursue. There are excellent books available these days with some wonderful translations.

Any of those practices should be accessible probably around stage 7.

Engaging with those practices while not having stabilized attention may not be very fruitful.

Some teachers also suggest that one should have realized two-fold emptiness before engaging in these. Another way to say that might be that thoughts have lost their stickiness.

So all in all, probably best to work to at least around stage 7 before going on tangents. Once you have done that, it will probably be very clear to you, what is the best next step for your personal practice.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by  Ivan Ganza.

Couple more points;

TMI is not meant to be applied as a straight jacket. One is certainly free to mix and match a bit, especially if you would find that a certain practice is just not working for you.

However, you have to be really careful and wise here!! If the feeling to try something different is arising from within, kind-of like a deep intuitive feeling, that is one thing. If the reason for something different is just the ego playing games to keep from doing what is required, that is another. The ego would happily keep you moving from one thing to another, endlessly.

(Let’s keep in mind as well, Culadasa has arranged and selected certain practices for good reason, hence, we should be cautious to make changes without deep consideration)

Be wise! And feel it out!!

This is all part so just keep at it!

Post back and let us know how you are doing.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by  Ivan Ganza.