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by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, edited by Mark Dahlby

EARTH

Earth is the ground in our ordinary life. In the shamanic world view, it is usually the center of everything and is placed in the center of the mandala, both in graphic representations and in experience. (In tantra and Dzogchen, space is considered the ground and center.)

Most of the elemental qualities of earth can be grasped intuitively: heavy, solid, connected, secure. Earth has gravity. It can be rich and fertile when in harmony with the other elements—when there is enough heat, moisture, and good air. It can also be cold and unbearable without enough heat, arid and harsh without enough water, and stale and lifeless without enough air.

When earth is balanced in us, we feel stable, grounded, confident. We are neither too heavy nor too airy. We are rooted in our experience. We are not easily knocked off balance nor do we lose touch with what is important. When we know something, we do not lose that knowledge. Our faith is steady. Our intentions do not easily get swept aside by impulse and our efforts are consistent. We are responsible and can stand on our own. The higher dimension of this quality is to be grounded in pure being.

If there is too much earth, we are plodding, dull, lazy, and dim. Too solid. Unable to move. Our thinking is heavy, literal, and lacking creativity. Too much earth can result in depression or being stuck or resigned—in our careers or relationships or spiritual practices. Then it becomes difficult to bring about change; we identify with problems and they seem very solid. We like to sleep. We try to meditate but nod off. And after we sleep, it can be hard to recall dreams in their entirety or at all. An excess of earth can make us insensitive and uninspired. Too much earth may mean being quiet all the time or, once having started talking, being unable to stop. Being late for every appointment or punctual to the minute can both be expressions of earth. Traditionally, the negative aspect of earth is ignorance.

If we have too little earth we are without anchor. We are flighty, spacy, or agitated. Unable to complete what we begin, we are ungrounded and dissatisfied. We're not at home anywhere; we're always looking for what will ground us and make us secure.

If we are deficient in earth, there are different ways to get grounded. Besides doing the exercises described in Healing with Form, Energy, and Light, we can use additional approaches. For example, a secure home, a healthy relationship, or a solid job may help generate the sense of groundedness. Such corrections of the external situation can be appropriate in certain situations. Once security is developed externally, the sense of stability can serve as a base upon which to develop positive internal qualities. Usually it's best to find the positive quality inside oneself and manifest it outwardly, but sometimes reversing the sequence is helpful.

When we identify ourselves as substantial, physical entities, we will naturally try to ground ourselves in substantial, external conditions. When we identify as energetic beings, we will try to ground in our feelings. When we identify with pure awareness, we will find the ground in the nature of mind. The gross mind feels stability in solid earth; the more subtle, impersonal awareness grounds in space.

In terms of meditation practice, balanced earth is a great and necessary support. Even in the highest practices, such as the emptiness practices in sutra or Cutting Through (trekchöd) in Dzogchen, concentration practices that develop the qualities of earth and the stability of mind are recommended. The mind must be stable to progress on the path of meditation, and that stability arises as a development from strengthening the earth element. In the teachings it is said that people who are predominantly fire and air will quickly have spiritual experiences but they will also quickly lose them. People who are predominantly earth and water may be slower to have the experiences but, when they do, they are able to sustain and develop them and ultimately will develop faster.

If you are ungrounded in your meditative practice, develop the quality of earth through developing concentration. Practice steadiness of mind and body. Eat heavier foods and avoid stimulants. Exercise. Usually we already know what to do to remedy problems in our practice but we don't do it. Making ourselves do what is best is one way to develop the consistency of the earth element.

Once stability of mind is developed through concentration, the unwanted movement of the mind slows and stops. Experience is clear and grounded in silence, not filled with buzzing thoughts. Lights and colors are sharper. If we are already introduced to the nature of mind, it becomes easier to continue in the natural state and to integrate the practice with all activities. Mindfulness becomes easy and can be maintained throughout the day, and ultimately throughout the night. When the mind is stable, insight naturally arises. This is the mind waking. It is not concentration but is a higher level of practice that arises from mental stability.

If there is too much earth, the approach is quite different. Eat lighter foods and try to avoid exhaustion. Practice being flexible in your thinking. Call on the elemental qualities of air and fire to generate flexibility, creativity, and liveliness.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

When the earth element is fully developed in spiritual practice it becomes the wisdom of equanimity. This is the higher spiritual capacity of earth that allows the practitioner to be grounded and even in any situation, however extreme, and to recognize the luminous innate-awareness common to all experience.

More about the book . . .

In the shamanic world-view of Tibet, the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space are accessed through the raw powers of nature and through non-physical beings associated with the natural world. In the Tibetan tantric view, the elements are recognized as five kinds of energy in the body and are balanced with a program of yogic movements, breathing exercises, and visualizations. In these Dzogchen teachings, the elements are understood to be the radiance of being and are accessed through pure awareness. Healing with Form, Energy, and Light offers the reader healing meditations and yogic practices on each of these levels.

Tenzin Rinpoche's purpose is to strengthen our connection to the sacred aspect of the natural world and to present a guide that explains why certain practices are necessary and in what situations practices are effective or a hindrance. This is a manual for replacing an anxious, narrow, uncomfortable identity with one that is expansive, peaceful, and capable. And the world too is transformed from dead matter and blind processes into a sacred landscape filled with an infinite variety of living forces and beings.

"There is more detailed and at the same time easily understood and useful information about the body and meditative practice than any other book I have seen. Spoken with an elegance that melts into your mind."—Anne C. Klein, Professor, Dept of Religious Studies, Founding Director, Dawn Mountain Tibetan Temple, Houston, author of Knowledge and Liberation, Meeting the Great Bliss Queen, Path to the Middle

"The secrets freely given in this volume can help us lay sound foundations for whatever yogic practice we may adopt. Tenzin Rinpoche has rendered all a great service."—Yoga Studies newsletter

More about the author . . .

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is one of the few Bön masters now living in the West. His skill as a teacher reflects his more than 15 years in guiding Western practitioners. He is the founder and director of the Ligmincha Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is the author of The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep and Wonders of the Natural Mind.