The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

66 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYINGall, is fascinated by mechanisms and machines, and addictedto purely practical formulae. But by far the most importantfeature of meditation is not the technique, but the spirit: theskillful, inspired, and creative way in which we practice,which could also be called "the posture."THE POSTUREThe masters say: "If you create an auspicious condition inyour body and your environment, then meditation and realizationwill automatically arise." Talk about posture is not esotericpedantry; the whole point of assuming a correct postureis to create a more inspiring environment for meditation, forthe awakening of Rigpa. There is a connection between theposture of the body and the attitude of the mind. Mind andbody are interrelated, and meditation arises naturally onceyour posture and attitude are inspired.If you are sitting, and your mind is not wholly in tune withyour body—if you are, for instance, anxious and preoccupiedwith something—then your body will experience physical discomfortand difficulties will arise more easily. Whereas if yourmind is in a calm, inspired state, it will influence your wholeposture, and you can sit much more naturally and effortlessly.So it is very important to unite the posture of your body andthe confidence that arises from your realization of the natureof mind.The posture I am going to explain to you may differslightly from others you may be used to. It comes from theancient teachings of Dzogchen and is the one my masterstaught me, and I have found it extremely powerful.In the Dzogchen teachings it is said that your View and yourposture should be like a mountain. Your View is the summationof your whole understanding and insight into the natureof mind, which you bring to your meditation. So your Viewtranslates into and inspires your posture, expressing the core ofyour being in the way you sit.Sit, then, as if you were a mountain, with all the unshakable,steadfast majesty of a mountain. A mountain is completely naturaland at ease with itself, however strong the winds that batterit, however thick the dark clouds that swirl around its peak.Sitting like a mountain, let your mind rise and fly and soar.The most essential point of this posture is to keep the backstraight, like "an arrow" or "a pile of golden coins." The "innerenergy," or prana, will then flow easily through the subtle