In this video, Alan Wallace discusses ethics as an essential component, and compliment to the stability we seek to cultivate in shamatha practice. Alan encourages us to cultivate a way of viewing reality that sustains a sense of ease, and invites us to engage in a practice of our choosing, to that end. After watching, please practice along with the silent meditation below. 

In this video, Alan Wallace discusses the post-meditation practice of viewing all phenomena as a dream, and introduces the guided meditation, a vipashyana practice on examining the mind that reifies.

In this video, Alan Wallace continues his commentary on phase three of the root text, starting on page 71. He continues his discussion on Düdjom Lingpa’s ontological analysis of the emptiness of gods, and demons, and makes these teachings relevant to the contemporary world. Alan also offers us pith instructions with respect to the importance of faith, and handling upheavals on the path.

In this video, Alan Wallace continues his commentary on phase three of the root text, discussing phases of Dzogchen practice, and how the view espoused by Düdjom Lingpa conceives of ethics, gods, and demons.  Feel free to follow along with the root text, starting on page 69.

In this lesson, Lama Alan Wallace reveals how the practices, and view, explored throughout the course are understood within the phases of Dzogchen practice. Lama Alan continues his commentary on phase three of the root text, framing the importance of ethics and practicing virtue alongside the vastness of Düdjom Lingpa’s view. Lama Alan also shares pith instructions on the meaning of secrecy in the context of Dzogchen and encourages us to be both practical and realistic as we continue to study and integrate the teachings found in the root text.  

In this selection from the Heart of the Great Perfection, Pema Tashi presents Düdjom Lingpa’s commentary on The Sharp Vajra of Conscious Awareness Tantra. This reading includes material covered by Alan Wallace in lesson 8.

In this selection from Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up, Alan Wallace presents the practical underpinnings of the Middle Way in the context of following an authentic path, which complements the philosophical considerations discussed throughout lesson 8.

In this video Alan Wallace introduces a vipashyana practice, in which we observing appearances in order to notice when, and how, we conceptually designate objects. After watching, please practice along with the guided meditation below.

In this video, Alan Wallace introduces the practice of observing appearances as appearances, of resting in the stillness of awareness with the doors of perception wide open, in order to establish a baseline for our practice. After watching, please follow along with the guided meditation below.

In this video, Alan Wallace offers commentary on the philosophical underpinnings pertinent to the second guided meditation below, “Vipashyana: Conceptual Designation, and Reification.” Alan also offers instruction on the emptiness of the five skandhas, how the path of liberation is understood in the Pali Canon, and how certain aspects of the Pali Canon relate to Madhyamaka and the Perfection of Wisdom.