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76 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYINGpicture in a camera will sharpen as you focus it, so the onepointednessof Calm Abiding allows an increasing clarity ofmind to arise. As obscurations are gradually removed and egoand its grasping tendency begin to dissolve, Clear Seeing, or"insight," dawns. This is called vipashyana in Sanskrit, andlhaktong in Tibetan. At this point you no longer need theanchor of remaining in nowness, and you can progress, movingon beyond your self even, into that openness which is the"wisdom that realizes egolessness." This is what will uprootdelusion and liberate you from samsara.As this Clear Seeing progressively deepens, it leads you toan experience of the intrinsic nature of reality, and of thenature of your mind. When the cloud-like thoughts and emotionsfade away, the sky-like nature of our true being isrevealed, and, shining from it, our buddha nature, like the sun.And just as both light and warmth blaze from the sun, wisdomand loving compassion radiate out from the mind's innermostnature. Grasping at a false self, or ego, has dissolved, andwe simply rest, as much as we can, in the nature of mind, thismost natural state that is without any reference or concept,hope, or fear, yet with a quiet but soaring confidence—thedeepest form of well-being imaginable.A DELICATE BALANCEIn meditation, as in all arts, there has to be a delicate balancebetween relaxation and alertness. Once a monk calledShrona was studying meditation with one of the Buddha'sclosest disciples. He had difficulty finding the right frame ofmind. He tried very hard to concentrate, and gave himself aheadache. Then he relaxed his mind, but so much that he fellasleep. Finally he appealed to Buddha for help. Knowing thatShrona had been a famous musician before he became amonk, Buddha asked him: "Weren't you a vina player whenyou were a layperson?"Shrona nodded."How did you get the best sound out of your vina? Was itwhen the strings were very tight or when they were veryloose?""Neither. When they had just the right tension, neither tootaut nor too slack.""Well, it's exactly the same with your mind."One of the greatest of Tibet's many woman masters, MaChik Lap Drön, said: "Alert, alert; yet relax, relax. This is a