Mahamudra for the Modern World

Reginald A. Ray, PhD

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SESSION ONE
An Introduction to This Training
Series
Introduction
The innermost heart of the dharma
Seeing the miracle and meaning in
everything that appears
Mahamudra is a golden key that opens the
full depth of our human life
Trust in the unfolding journey
The Tibetan tradition
Practicing the depth of the Mahamudra
without the constraints of Tibetan
culture
The opportunity for study and practice that
we have as modern people
The imperative behind the creation of this
program
How to work with this Mahamudra training
program
To fly like this

SESSION TWO
The Basic Process
Introduction
The Mahamudra is a vajrayana practice
Open awareness or the natural state
We begin with touching the basic nature
Pure perception and the sacred world
Becoming a true personan unprecedented,
unique, unfolding process
This Mahamudra Lineage
Exploring the authenticity of this
Mahamudra lineage
Chgyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his
commitment to not holding back the
ultimate teachings
The fire of the inner lineage
The nakedness it takes to receive and deliver
the authentic lineage
How the need for external legitimization
obscures our vision
The tradition of the siddhas
SESSION THREE
View, Practice, Result
PART ONE
Introduction
The spiritual journey is a life-long
commitment
The importance of the view: the role of
conceptual understanding
The practice of meditation
The result of our practice is compassion,
love, and the desire to liberate others
We have to discover what is needed now
The Mahamudra Entry Protocol
Overview and purpose
PART TWO
Guided practice: The Mahamudra Entry
Protocol

SESSION FOUR
The Mahamudra Posture
PART ONE
Introduction
Shamatha (pacifying the mind) and
vipashyana (extraordinary seeing)
When our physical posture is relaxed, stable,
and open, our mind naturally falls into
an uncluttered state
Three levels of posture
The 12 points of the Mahamudra posture
PART TWO
Guided practice: The Mahamudra Posture

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

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SESSION FIVE
Meditating as the Earth
PART ONE
Introduction
Prioritizing direct experience
Our ideas about the earth versus our
experience of the earth
The connection between the space inside the
body and the space of the earth
PART TWO
Guided practice: The 10 Points and the
Earth Descent
Opening to the infinite, primordial depth of
the earth
PART THREE
Guided practice: Sitting as the Earth

SESSION SIX
The Tantric Journey of the Heart
Unfolding
Introduction
The great space of being is impersonal and
totally personal
Our human lives are expressions of the
universes love for us
Turning our faces toward the relative
The discovery of our closed hearts
Being naked and tender toward ourselves
and the world
The imperative to be our authentic selves
Ground, Path, and Fruition
Mahamudra
Ground Mahamudra Transmission: At the
beginning of the vajrayana journey, we
are shown the goal
The second stage: path Mahamudra
Fruition Mahamudra: Living in amazement
as the three bodies of the Buddha

SESSION SEVEN
Ground Mahamudra Transmission
PART ONE
Introduction
Relax, stay focused on your body, and let
your mind open
PART TWO
Guided practice: Ground Mahamudra
Transmission

SESSION EIGHT
The Mahamudra Journey to
Becoming Rooted in the
Awakened State
PART ONE
Introduction
Ground Mahamudra transmission connects
us to the awakened state
The Four Reminders
The imperative to grow and the three main
obstacles we encounter on the path
The four contemplations that change our
viewpoint
Precious human birth
Impermanence and the certainty of death
Karma is real
Suffering is unavoidable
PART TWO
Guided practice: The Four Reminders

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

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Many voices. One journey.

BONUS: For an interview with Reginald Ray, please visit soundstrue.com/bonus/mahamudramodernworld
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SESSION NINE
The Teacher After Transmission
PART ONE
Introduction
The role of the teacher in the modern world
The lineage delivers the teachings
Receiving transmission through recordings
Three kinds of teachers: the human teacher,
the world of experience, and the natural
state itself
Vajrayana Compassion
The centrality of compassion in the practice
of Mahamudra
Discovering the life-giving warmth of empty
space
PART TWO
Guided practice: Vajrayana Compassion

SESSION TEN
The Shamatha Tool Box
Introduction
How do we develop a deeper and more
constant relationship with the great
space of being?
Two ways to bring the mind into a state of
quiescence
Mahamudra shamatha is 75 percent of the
journey
Review of the five shamatha techniques
already introduced
All shamatha techniques are gates into the
natural state
The existential nourishment we find beyond
the world of preconceptions
Shamatha with a focal object: working with
the breath, body, and images
Transitional shamatha; shamatha without an
object; four-fold deepening; tightening,
loosening, and balancing

SESSION ELEVEN
Shamatha with the Breath as the
Focal Point
PART ONE
Introduction
Overview of the seven levels of the breath
PART TWO
Guided Practice: The Seven Levels of the
Breath
Stages of working with these shamatha
practices
Overview of whole-body breathing
PART THREE
Guided practice: Whole-Body Breathing

SESSION TWELVE
Shamatha with the Body as the
Focal Point
PART ONE
Introduction
Exploring seven levels of the breath at the
perineum
PART TWO
Guided practice: Seven Levels of the Breath
at the Perineum
Shamatha with an Image as the
Focal Point
Working with internal and external images
PART THREE
Guided practice: Shamatha with Internal and
External Images
Further comments on the practice of
shamatha with an image as the focal
point

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

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Many voices. One journey.

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SESSION THIRTEEN
Transitional Shamatha
PART ONE
Introduction
The technique of dissolving with the out-
breath
PART TWO
Guided practice: Dissolving With the Out-
breath
PART THREE
Guided practice: Dissolving With the Out-
breath and Exploring the Gap
Shamatha without an Object
Mahamudra shamatha practices start in
different places but all bring us face-to-
face with the natural state
PART FOUR
Guided practice: Shamatha without an
Object

SESSION FOURTEEN
The Power and Depth of the
Shamatha Journey
PART ONE
Introduction
The Mahamudra person has a passion for
experience
The discovery that there is no such thing as
ordinary reality
The shamatha technique in intimate
relationships: Beholding the beloved
The more we practice shamatha, the more
the world opens to us in all of its depth
and sacredness
Shamatha brings us into a state of complete
embodiment
When we bring our mind into the depth of
tranquility, vipashyana naturally
happens
Enhancements to the Shamatha
State
Overview of tightening, loosening, and
balancing
PART TWO
Guided practice: Tightening, Loosening, and
Balancing

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

SOUNDS TRUE Page 5 of 9
Many voices. One journey.

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SESSION FIFTEEN
Enhancements to the Shamatha
State, continued
PART ONE
Introduction
Non-distraction, non-meditation, non-
fabrication, non-effort
PART TWO
Guided practice: The Four-Fold Deepening
of Shamatha
Recognizing Obstacles and
Rousing Motivation
The Mahamudra journey calls us out of
hiding
The job of the teacher is to help us realize
the sacred possibilities of our human
incarnation
Obstacles on the journey: laziness and fear
The Oedipal dream
Spiritual inflation and other attitudes that
keep us from practicing
The Four Reminders as an important
resource for staying motivated on the
path
Compassion practice allows us to see that
the work we are doing is for everybody

SESSION SIXTEEN
Stepping Over the Threshold Into
the World of Vipashyana
Introduction
PART ONE
Through the practice of shamatha, we come
to a door
Learning to look
Everything in our life falls into one of the
three areas of vipashyana investigation
We need to look with an absolutely fresh
and open mind
We are not looking for conceptual answers
but instead direct, naked experience
We will explore each area through looking
and through pointing out
Exploring the Abiding Mind
Looking directly at tamal gyi shepa, the
natural mind
PART TWO
Guided practice: Looking at the
Conformation and Location of the
Natural State

SESSION SEVENTEEN
Human Spirituality in the Modern
World
PART ONE
Introduction
The challenges of offering an ancient
tradition in a consumer society
The misleading nature of easy spirituality
Beyond self-deception, listening to the
subtle inner voice that calls us forward
Exploring the Abiding Mind
The instruction to look at your awareness
Staying with our actual experience and not
jumping to a conclusion
PART TWO
Guided practice: Looking at the Scope and
Extent of Awareness

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

SOUNDS TRUE Page 6 of 9
Many voices. One journey.

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SESSION EIGHTEEN
Exploring the Abiding Mind
Introduction
PART ONE
Working with different gateways in the body
Letting go of the watcher
PART TWO
Guided practice: Exploring the Birth,
Abiding, and Ceasing of the Natural
State
The experience itself is the message
PART THREE
Guided practice: Exploring the Existence or
Non-Existence of the Natural State
Allowing these vipashyana investigations to
change us
PART FOUR
Guided practice: Exploring the Essence of
the Natural State

SESSION NINETEEN
Exploring the Abiding Mind
PART ONE
Introduction
Beyond conceptual knowing
PART TWO
Guided practice: Exploring the Cognizance
of the Natural State
Tuning in to how the natural state presents
itself
PART THREE
Guided practice: Exploring the Immaculate
Peace of the Natural State
Investigating the event of knowing
PART FOUR
Guided practice: Looking at the Knower and
the Object

SESSION TWENTY
The Bravery and Intimacy of this
Mahamudra Journey
Introduction
Chgyam Trungpa Rinpoches experience
with the Bardo Retreat
We cannot replant Tibetan Buddhism but
instead need to discover the vajrayana as
a process for unlocking human
spirituality
The unsettling nature of studying closely
with Chgyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Allowing for the intimacy of this journey
Reality Works Through Our
Everyday Life
Addressing our fundamental human longing
This tradition is not a commodity
Our actual lives in contrast to our personal
narratives
How our relative lives work on us
Indestructible positivity: the discovery of
trust in what happens

SESSION TWENTY-ONE
The Pointing Out of the Abiding
Mind
PART ONE
Introduction
The process of looking and the process of
pointing out
PART TWO
Guided practice: The Pointing Out of the
Abiding Mind

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

SOUNDS TRUE Page 7 of 9
Many voices. One journey.

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SESSION TWENTY-TWO
Thoughts as Expressions of the
Natural State
PART ONE
Introduction
We change by experience
Making a relationship with our unresolved
karmic propensities
Thoughts as explosions of energy
Relating to our mental experience from the
point of view of the awakened state
Exploring the Moving Mind
Cutting through any preconceptions we have
about thoughts
PART TWO
Guided practice: Looking into Thoughts

SESSION TWENTY-THREE
Exploring the Moving Mind
PART ONE
Introduction
Resting in luminosity, we perceive the
natural directionality of awareness
toward phenomena
We are investigating the nature of thought,
not the content
PART TWO
Guided practice: Looking at Thoughts at the
Moment of Arising
PART THREE
Guided practice: Looking at the Abiding (or
Dwelling) of Thoughts

SESSION TWENTY-FOUR
Exploring the Moving Mind
PART ONE
Introduction
Guided practice: Looking into the Lifespan
of a Thought
PART TWO
Guided practice: Looking for the Agency of
Thoughts
Practice insights on working with thoughts
in the Mahamudra

SESSION TWENTY-FIVE
The Pointing Out of the Moving
Mind
PART ONE
Introduction
We are developing a Mahamudra style of
working with thoughts
PART TWO
Guided practice: The Pointing Out of the
Moving Mind

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

SOUNDS TRUE Page 8 of 9
Many voices. One journey.

BONUS: For an interview with Reginald Ray, please visit soundstrue.com/bonus/mahamudramodernworld
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SESSION TWENTY-SIX
The Pure Energy of the Moving
Mind
Introduction
Considering the range of experiences that
make up the moving mind
There is no possibility of escaping mental
occurrence
The underlying life force of the moving
mind is pure
Dismantling the Klesas: The
Fundamental Building Blocks
of Ego
How the Klesas (sticky thoughts) operate as
driving forces
The five primary Klesas
The Klesas as primitive survival
mechanisms formed in early life
Dismantling the Klesas through heightening
the intensity of our experience of them
Eating the poison: The vajrayana approach
to working with the Klesas

SESSION TWENTY-SEVEN
Working with the Klesas
PART ONE
Introduction
Each of the five guided sessions on the
Klesas includes looking and pointing out
PART TWO
Guided practice: Investigating Desire
PART THREE
Guided practice: Investigating Anger and
Hatred
PART FOUR
Guided practice: Investigating Pride

SESSION TWENTY-EIGHT
Working with the Klesas,
continued
PART ONE
Introduction
Guided practice: Investigating Paranoia
PART TWO
Guided Practice: Investigating Ignorance
The Klesas in Ordinary Life
We need to have a tremendous amount of
respect for the power of the Klesas
The importance of training on the cushion
Klesa attacks are given by the lineage to
purify us
Practicing lovingkindness when the Klesas
erupt
Deactivating during Klesa
upheavals and then falling back into
the natural state

SESSION TWENTY-NINE
All Experience Frees Us and
Makes Us Whole
Introduction
The sacred world
Everything that appears is an expression of
wisdom
Pure relative truth
The universe communicates its love for us
through our relative life
Exploring Sense Perceptions
Pure perception and our usual conceptual
overlay

Mahamudra for the Modern World
Reginald A. Ray, PhD

SOUNDS TRUE Page 9 of 9
Many voices. One journey.

BONUS: For an interview with Reginald Ray, please visit soundstrue.com/bonus/mahamudramodernworld
AF02130W
SESSION THIRTY
Exploring Sense Perceptions
PART ONE
Introduction
Working with the sensory experience of the
body
PART TWO
Guided practice: Exploring Internal Sense
Perceptions
Working with a visual object
PART THREE
Guided practice: Exploring External Sense
Perceptions

SESSION THIRTY-ONE
The Mahamudra Evolves in Us
Exploring Enhancing Practices
PART ONE
Introduction
The Mahamudra grows in us and grows us
An overview of three enhancing practices
PART TWO
Guided practice: Exploring the Unborn
Light
Connecting with the ultimate feminine space
PART THREE
Guided practice: Yin Breathing

SESSION THIRTY-TWO
Exploring Enhancing Practices
PART ONE
Introduction
The energy of emptiness
Discovering the vajra body
PART TWO
Guided practice: The Inner Appearance of
the BodyExploring the Chakras
SESSION THIRTY-THREE
How Is the Mahamudra Unfolding
in the Modern World?
Introduction
Appreciating the Mahamudra teachings
independent of any cultural situation
Our thirst for direct experience
Sacred outlook and a nonsectarian view of
spirituality
Everybodys journey through life is a
journey of spiritual unfolding
The primacy of meditation practice
Individuation as the fundamental human
imperative
Secular enlightenment and a contemporary
view of renunciation
The importance of lineage and the need to
make a commitment
The spiritual possibilities of the householder
life
Spiritual elders, community, and the death
of the guru
The discovery of self-existing devotion
The open-ended journey
Five markers on the path