What Is the Nature of Your Mind?

In the book, The Nature of Mind, the author (Aro Yeshe Jungne) says to:

(1) look directly into our mind,

(2) identify its nature, and

(3) abide there.

The nature of the mind is:

(1) open,

(2) clear,

(3) bright,

(4) peaceful,

(5) compassionate,

(6) complete, and

(7) free from thought and emotion.

Know this and be this—this is the heart of his message.

---

Exploring the Nature of One’s Own Mind

As part of your meditation, over time, you may also be led to search and discover the nature of your mind.

Your mind is vast. The limitless universe and all that is within it appears within your mind.

All manner of suffering and joy takes place within your mind.

Countless thoughts come and go effortlessly through your mind.

The teachings say that everything is mind.

Perhaps at last now the time has come for you to realize whether this is true or not.

You must do the work. No one else can do it for you. You are exploring the nature of your own mind. It is you who must resolve this matter—do not leave it in a hazy, vague state. It is not enough to say, “I heard it, it sounds good, I presume it is right.”

The Way of Contemplation

You cannot simply agree with what others have said about the nature of the mind; you must look again and again into your own mind and come to a decisive understanding as to its nature. This is known as the way of contemplation. Through contemplation you will reach a conclusion, and have the final say.

Proving the Nature of Mind to Ourselves

You have heard what the Buddha, the lineage masters, and your root teacher have taught about the nature of the mind, and you have read about it in books. All of this is generally good, of course, but now you have to determine for yourself whether or not what the teachers and the texts say is true. You are making the quality check once and for all.

For that reason, Patrul Rinpoche here uses the expression “dal sha chu”. This is Tibetan for “you must make the final proof.” This means that the time to know is now.

How to Prove the Nature of Mind

You can begin by seeking the location of your mind. Many people believe mind is located inside the body, in the brain or in the heart. In particular, most people in modern times think the mind is in the brain.

Now, look within your brain and search for your mind. Can you find it? Is it in the heart? Search for it there. Perhaps your mind is in your brain and heart simultaneously. Seek your mind in both places simultaneously.

When you search for your mind in your brain, heart, or in both places at once, do you find a solidly existing mind anywhere?

Mind Is not Matter

Mind, according to Buddhism, is not matter. Brain and heart are matter. The source of matter, depending on which system and terminology we use, is thought to be atoms and molecules or the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind.

Atoms, molecules, and the four elements are tangible; mind is not tangible. That which is tangible can be resisted or blocked; mind cannot be resisted or blocked.

Matter is conditioned; mind is unconditioned.

Matter is subject to many laws; mind is subject to none.

You should determine for yourself whether or not this is so. You should explore within the laboratory of your own mind the differences between mind and matter. The fact is that they are completely different.

Mind Is Boundless

This is the resolution that the Buddha and all the great masters made, and this can be your understanding too. Matter can be measured, quantified, and qualified until the absolute levels are reached. Measurement, quantification, and qualification apply to matter alone.

Mind is beyond this; it is in a totally different category. This is not something you have to believe; it is, however, something very worthwhile that you can discover.

Inquire whether or not the mind can be measured, quantified, and qualified. How many miles is the mind? How tall, how wide? What shape, what thickness? What does the mind weigh?

Ask these questions and you will quickly realize they are appropriate only to objects of the tangible world and absolutely inapplicable to mind.

Mind has nothing to do with miles, height, width, or shape. Mind—your own mind—is boundless. If you look within, you will see.

Mind Is Unconditional Love

In addition to be being boundless, your own mind is unconditional love. This is not tradition or dogma or belief.

The Buddha did not decide that mind is boundless and unconditional love on a whim and make it into a rule.

Buddha discovered what was there within his own mind, and realized that what was true within his own mind was also true within the minds of all others.

Proving the Nature of Mind to Ourselves

The Buddha also said we should examine his words the way a goldsmith examines gold. He never said that we must blindly believe him. He said that we should investigate the matter for ourselves.

The Buddha is talking about nature, and nature is an open door.

We can and should open nature’s door, look for ourselves, and discover the truth.

We should not follow blindly or wilfully what someone else said just because they are famous.

The fact is that the truth is not something Buddha made up; it is not something that belongs to him alone.

What is truth is available to everyone.

You should continue your investigation of mind. Does your mind have a color? Is it yellow, orange, red, blue, or green?

Is your mind composed of atoms and molecules? Is it composed of the four elements? Is your mind hot or icy cold?

Investigate further—does time apply to your mind? In other words, does your mind belong to the past, present, and future? Look at this; be thorough.

See for yourself that color, composition, temperature, and time do not apply to mind. This is how you should examine your mind. This is how you bring this inquiry to conclusion.

Recognizing and Confirming that Mind is Boundless

By constant, vigilant inquiry you will come to recognize and confirm that mind is boundless, beyond any and all categories.

When you know for sure that your own mind is boundless, there is no need to ask any more questions.

The Time to Meditate

Now it is time to meditate, which means simply to relax into this boundlessness. Boundless mind is always with you, wherever you are.

The teachings say that once you have performed this detailed inquiry and have attained a good understanding of the nature of your mind, from that point on your practice should be more direct.

It is no longer necessary to ask many questions. Just look at your own mind and ask, “Who is analyzing the nature of the mind?” The moment you do this both the analyzer and the analysis merge into boundlessness.

You can also look within and inquire, “Where is my mind?” The moment you ask that question and seek an answer you behold the boundless state.

Another question you can ask is, “Who am I?”

Any and all of the questions you pose to your mind regarding its nature do not yield answers. There are no answers. The questions themselves dissolve.

Emptiness

There is nothing to seek and find, nothing to grasp, there is nothing solid at all. Everything opens to the boundless state.

This is the true nature; in Buddhism it is called “emptiness.”

In describing the state of emptiness, the Buddha used the words inexpressible and inconceivable.

The inexpressible, inconceivable state of emptiness that is the nature of the mind is the essence of the Buddha’s vast Prajnaparamita teachings.

Directly Experiencing the True Nature of Your Own Mind

After you discover the true nature by inquiry, then simply abide, with confidence, in that state.

According to the Aro teachings, as well as the teachings of other great masters elsewhere, you should meditate on that state as long as you can without being disturbed by thoughts.

Meditation here means to maintain and grow increasingly familiar with your boundless, inexpressible mind.

Of course, even when you recognize the nature of your mind, habitual patterns of thought will return and this state of recognition will be lost.

That is why the teachings mention that in the beginning the glimpse of realization comes but doesn’t stay long. It is like opening a door on a windy day. The door stays open for a moment, then the wind slams it shut.

How long the door of recognizing the true nature remains open varies from person to person.

Some people can remain in the true nature all the time, some for a while, and others only briefly.

But everyone has the potential to achieve permanent recognition.

Directly experiencing the true nature of your own mind is known as self-awareness, self-recognition, or self-realization.

Relaxing into One’s Own Boundlessness

What you have acquired by investigation and analysis must now be maintained in meditation with courage, commitment, and confidence.

Again, relax into your own boundlessness. Now you no longer have to analyze, investigate, or inquire into the nature of your mind.

When you know and are abiding in the nature of your mind—that is to say, when you are meditating—analysis, investigation, and inquiry are fabrications.

The Return of Thoughts

You have recognized the nature of your mind, and you are abiding in the open, thought-free state.

Suddenly thoughts return: pleasant thoughts and unpleasant thoughts.

Who determines, this thought is pleasant and that thought is unpleasant? Who judges, this is good and that is bad? This is dirty and that is clean? This is high and that is low? This is spiritual and that is worldly?

No one outside you makes these judgments. Your own mind does. The next time a thought arises, do not judge it; simply look directly to your mind itself.

When you do this, the thought immediately dissolves. This happens because all thoughts are baseless, speechless, inexpressible, and inconceivable. Mind is empty and what arises from mind is also empty.

---

Duality: Mind Deceiving Mind!

Your mind does not solidly exist, yet it is active, producing thought after thought without effort.

Mind is empty and what arises from mind is empty.

This means thought is empty too. But when this is not recognized, when you believe your thoughts are real and true, it is known as duality.

When you are experiencing duality, it is inevitable that you will speak and act on behalf of your thoughts.

Dualistic thoughts, words, and deeds pile up; all kinds of divisions and boundaries, such as “self” and “other,” “mine” and “yours,” are created and defended.

Mind becomes turbulent and negative emotions erupt—many uncomfortable and even painful things internally and externally can occur.

The teachings call these “nightmare visions.” These nightmare visions are the result of waves upon waves of fabrication and deceit connected to ego, or “I”.

All of this emanates from emptiness mind; not a single component of this has a basis in reality.

However, when emptiness mind is not understood, the nightmare visions seem real and are experienced in very real ways. Thus, it is called a “magical display”.

When your mind creates negativity and you project this onto the external environment, it will affect the external environment adversely and will bounce back to you.

The negativity that you receive from the external environment inspires more negativity within you. More negativity is projected out again, and more comes bouncing back. You always bear the consequences of the deceptions of your dualistic mind.

If you truly want to put an end to duality and its deceptions once and for all, it is necessary to discover the nature of your mind.

Look into your mind and reach a final conclusion.

For this reason, in ancient times masters said to their students, “Go out, find your mind, and bring it back to me.”

The masters sent their students out into the world or the wilderness for a few days or weeks, or even for as long as a month, to search for their minds.

Then, once they discovered their minds, the students would return to their masters and tell them what they found.

This practice works in ways similar to a Zen koan. Therefore, look at your own mind—search out and discover its nature. Come to a resolution. This is what you need to do in order to put duality to rest for good.

---

Our Own Innate Nature

Each person has intrinsic, primordial awareness.

According to certain teachings, the nature of awareness is empty in essence, luminous in nature, and unconfined in capacity; furthermore, these three characteristics are indivisible.

Emptiness refers to the ultimate nature of both mind and external phenomena. When mind and external phenomena are experienced without intellectual and emotional interference, they are utterly open, free, and beyond conception.

According to tradition, a practitioner receives the pointing-out instructions from a qualified teacher and is thus introduced to the nature of mind, or rigpa.

Upon recognizing one’s own innate nature, and having this confirmed by the teacher, one trains in stabilizing this wisdom awareness by recognizing and abiding in mind essence again and again.

---

Source: Based on Sherab, Khenchen; Dongyal, Khenpo Tsewang; Rinpoche, Patrul. The Nature of Mind: The Dzogchen Instructions of Aro Yeshe Jungne. Boulder, CO: Snow Lion, 2016.

---

---