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Sometimes we think we've achieved some level of quiet in our minds...but then suddenly our thought processes go wild and seem to be uncontrollable. What's going on? Karma Chagme (in regular type)—with Gyatrul Rinpoche's commentary (in blue type set off by bullets)—talks about this meditation stage in this excerpt adapted from A Spacious Path to Freedom, translated by B. Alan Wallace.

• At first, though it may seem that the mind is firmly stabilized, there is really only a slight level of stability, for the mind has been strenuously constrained.

Then, when you are first aware of the sheer quantity of thoughts arising in your mind, you may think you are going crazy from the chaos, but, in fact, such ideation has been there all along, and you simply failed to recognize it. Again, this is progress. This current of ideation draws you into its undertow, just like a whirlpool. Recognize the full extent of the thoughts without following after them. Gradually, you will begin to recognize the extent of these thoughts as they arise moment by moment. In your meditation, if you note the sheer quantity of thoughts that arise and you are carried away by them, that is faulty practice and not genuine quiescence. On the other hand, if you are like a tourist standing back and observing everything with a camera, you will discover that these thoughts neither harm nor benefit you. They simply arise, then pass. Observe them without obstruction. When you can do that, you have accomplished a small degree of stability. Be careful not to be like the tourist who sees sight after sight and grasps onto each one saying, "Oh, isn't this one pretty. Oh, this one is even prettier." If you approach meditation like that, you will go astray. In contrast, without any preference, simply note the arising and passing of thoughts and look into their empty nature. •

Tilopa says:
In the middle, it moves slowly like the Ganges River.

By observing and practicing in the previous manner, ideation diminishes, and you enter a nonconceptual state. Even though isolated thoughts occasionally occur for an instant, they do not continue, but vanish like snow that has fallen on a hot rock. Whatever thoughts surge forth, they are discerned and reckoned with, and the flow of your meditation is unruffled. When it happens in that way, that is called the intermediate mental state, which is like the slow descent of a great river. But it is not like being far away and failing to see properly how it is flowing. Rather, it is like seeing it right on the spot.

• This nonconceptual state is not simply devoid of thought; rather, as thoughts arise, you recognize their emptiness. They simultaneously arise and are released. How is it that ideation is naturally released? We have had countless thoughts, and they have already been naturally released. However, in the meantime we have recognized and retained only a very small percentage of the myriad of thoughts that have arisen and been released. Within this enormous quantity of ideation, there are subtle levels of thoughts that we fail to recognize. These arise and self-liberate of their own accord, unbeknownst to us because we lack sufficient discernment to recognize their arising and passing. In the meditative process, as you learn to be aware of the thoughts without any vestige of craving, you begin to see this process. Through your own experience, find out how this occurs. •

The oral tradition of the spiritual mentors says, "At this point, the second sensation is like the descent of a stream in a narrow gorge." Sometimes it stays fairly serene, and sometimes it surges forth turbulently. When there is scattering, relax and observe it. When there is stillness, concentrate a bit and rest in that state. This seems to happen to many people.

Again, withdraw the mind single-pointedly into thatness, and, most importantly, collapse inside and relax, as if you were resting after becoming exhausted. Without hopes that the meditation will go well or fears that it will not, with a spacious attitude gently rest in the meditative posture and remain with an unwavering gaze. This results in a gentle subsiding of thoughts. With the body and mind imbued with a quiet, gentle, serene, and relaxed sense of well-being, and the physical posture being without discomfort, even when you stop meditating, the mind does not become immersed in external activities, but remains in a stream of bliss and clarity. All of your bodily, verbal, and mental behavior naturally becomes gentle, serene, and relaxed; and at this time you are not harmed by even slight problems of mental afflictions. Within the fields of experience of your five senses many unprecedented appearances arise. The best mental state is said to be like the gentle flow of a great river, and that is the intermediate phase of quiescence.

Gyatrul Rinpoche


B. Alan Wallace