lystn

Teaching pt1: As we revisit this section, Alan will present teachings from the shravakayana and dzogchen. 

According to the shravakayana, nama rupa should not be understood as two entities but as a single activity of experience. Nama (naming) is the subjective experience of identifying an object. Rupa (all appearances) is the objective experience of an object perceived or conceived through the process of identification. Mano/manas (mind/mentation) is the mental process of conceptualization which makes meaning out of the 6 sensory inputs. 

According to dzogchen, dharmadhatu and primordial consciousness (yeshe) are of the same nature and extensive. Appearances are considered their creative expression or effulgence. Ignorance of this play when rigified becomes the substrate which is immaterial, blank, unthinking, and void. Substrate consciousness radiant and clear is the basis for appearances. It reflects but does not identify them. From the substrate consciousness, arises sense of I over here and substrate over there. As the sense of I cements, mano/manas becomes acitvated, and from that, appearances illuminated by the substrate consciousness. Reification leads to appearances becoming owners of those very conceptualizations. Thus arises samsara. By returning to the substrate in shamatha, we are reversing this very process.
Meditation: mindfulness of the body. Withdraw your attention from all 6 domains of experience, and just rest without knowing anything at all, as if in deep sleep. Arouse your attention just enough to become aware of awareness. Do you have a sense of being aware, present, or yourself as the subject? Attend to the space of the mind. Do you have a sense that you’re here and that the space of the mind is over there? Allow consciousness to illuminate all 6 domains. Apply mindfulness now to the appearances of the body. Observe the process of conceptualization of the body—e.g., my head with its attritbutes, moving on to other body parts. Attend to the subject experiencing the body. Is the body already there in appearances? Is the I already there in appearances?
Teaching pt2: Alan introduces the first 4 links of the 12 links of dependent origination. 1) ignorance – which is nature of the substrate. 2) mental formations (samskara) – karma or kinetic energy of the mind stirs or activates. 3) consciousness – substrate consciousnes becomes explicit, yet it is luminous without illuminating anything. 4) nama rupa which refers to appearances and identifying appearances. Mere labelling is not the problem, their reification is.
Q1. How does your diet affect shamatha practice?

Q2. What do you mean by appearance? Is it possible to have pure appearance without ignorance? 

Q3. Is it possible to observe with introspection the entire evolution of manas and nama rupa at once?

Meditation starts at 31:30