The Transmission of Integrity

In order for a transmission to occur, there has to be an open receiver. We are all transmitting something, and we have to decide whether what we are transmitting is of any benefit to others. Conversely, we are also receiving, and it is up to us to determine whether what we are receiving is of any benefit. 😀

The Transmission of Integrity is the pointing out instruction – the transmission (passing on) of the realisation of pure consciousness or pure awareness. Pure awareness is complete integrity, purity itself, emptiness without fault. For this to occur, there has to be the right teacher, the right instruction and the right student with the right motivation – one who is about to give up, in total chaos; then, as Gampopa said, “May confusion dawn as wisdom”.

We either ‘get it’ or we don’t, but at the very least, we will receive some sort of blessing for the future by merely being present. To ‘get it’, we have to value the worth of the instructor, the instruction and the listener, even if we do not particularly like the teacher, or ourselves. 😀 It is the instruction at the right moment that counts. Traditionally, the pointing out instruction is supposed to be given by the breath – by word of mouth.. Speaking personally, however, I have received the instruction from renowned lamas, and I was left confused. So was my wife. We just didn’t ‘get it’! We got it through the written words of “The Lamp That Dispels Darkness” by Mipham Rinpoche; personal reflection and experience lead to realisation, without doubts and elaborations.

We have to recognise. To re-cognise, to re-know, means re-connecting to something that is already known but not clear. How can we recognise if there wasn’t a previous inkling?

It is not a matter of having an exotic name, robes, throne, ceremonies or foreign words. It is a matter of trust and direct re-cognition. Take away the exotic name, robes, throne, ceremonies and foreign words, and what is left? Our hope.

When we do get it, however, there is a feeling of relief, of completeness, and … “Is that all?” Yes, that’s it! Once we get it, all we have to do is get used to it, become familiar with it, sustain it, be it, by not blocking it. It isn’t something that wasn’t present before. It’s not something we have to hope for or believe in. It is our own integrity – our own completeness – that we hadn’t previously recognised.

So what is this integrity?

We have awareness; all creatures have this awareness to survive. This is animal consciousness. Humans are clever animals; we can do all sorts of tricks.

Now look into this awareness, and what do you find? Does this awareness have shapes and colours? Is it thoughts and images? Is it a feeling? Can you get hold of it? No. There is merely awareness that there is awareness. The nature of the awareness mirror is the natural clarity of light that is aware of the reflections in the mirror. The awareness-mirror itself is constant; the reflections come and go.

Here, we may find that we are going round in circles. “Do I get it or not? Am I the reflections or the light?” Whatever we are thinking, there is still the awareness-mirror present. That is the end. We have arrived. “Is that all?” Yes. Simple isn’t it?

The mirror of emptiness is our self-nature. There is merely awareness that is aware of the reflections in a mind that collects everything it comes into contact with, storing things for future reference, like a squirrel stores nuts. We become a storehouse of ‘nuts’! These ‘nuts’ won’t kill us, but they will make us want more ‘nuts’!

The integrity is the pure nature of your own mind. It’s what is looking at this page, right now! To tell you the truth, it would be better if we stared at a blank page, or the clear cloudless sky 😀

The Transmission of Integrity
is our conduct
in the continuity
of the meditation experience.