The following is respectfully quoted from “Buddhahood Without Meditation” by Dudjom Rinpoche:
On another occasion, when I encountered Orgyan Tsokyey Dorje–the embodiment of the magical illusion of timeless awareness–he bestowed advice for refining my perception of things so that I could see that they are illusory (gyu-ma). He said, “For me to introduce you directly to the interdependence of causes and conditions coming together, consider this: The cause is the ground of being as basic space (zhi-ying), which is pristinely lucid (dang-sal) and endowed with capacity for anything whatsoever to arise. The condition is a consciousness that conceives of an ‘I.’ From the coming together of these two, all sensory appearances (nang-wa) manifest like illusions.
“In this way, the ground of being as basic space, ordinary mind (sem) that arises from the dynamic energy (tzal) of that ground, and the external and internal phenomena that constitute the manifest aspect of that mind are all interlinked (lu-gu-gyud), like the sun and its rays. Thus, we use the expression ‘occurring in interdependent connection.’
“Here are some metaphors for this process: It is like the appearance of a magical illusion, which depends on the pristine clarity of space as the cause and manifestations through the interdependent connection created by the synchronicity of the conditions–that is, magical substances, mantras, and the mind that creates the illusion.
“All phenomena, which manifest as they do, are ineffable, yet appear due to the influence of conceiving of an ‘I.’ This process is like a mirage appearing from the synchronicity of vividly clear space and the presence of warmth and moisture.
“All sensory appearances of the waking consciousness, dream states, the bardo, and future lifetimes are apparent yet ineffable. Confusion comes about due to fixation on their seeming truth. This is like a dream that one does not consider false–thinking, ‘This is a dream’–but instead reifies and fixates on as some enduring objective environment.
“Due to the predominant condition of the perception of an inner ‘I,’ the realm of phenomena manifests as something ‘other.’ This is like the appearance of a reflection through the interdependent connection of a face and a mirror coming together.
“Because one is thoroughly ensnared by concepts of identity (dag-dzin), the realms of the six states manifest one after the other. This is like the cities of gandarvas appearing in one’s environment–for example, one a plain at sunset–as visionary experiences reified by the ordinary mind.
“While sensory appearances are primordially such that they have never existed, the myriad appearances that are seen, heard, smelled and tasted, or felt are like echoes–subjective appearances manifesting as though they were something else.
“All sensory appearances are not other than the ground of being, but are of one taste with that ground itself, like the reflections of all the planets and stars in the ocean that are not other than the ocean, but are of one taste with the water itself.
“Due to the concept of an ‘I,’ self and other manifest as though they truly existed within the panoramic sky of the ground of being, expansive basic space. This is analogous to bubbles forming on water.
“The pristine lucidity of the ground of being as empty basic space is forced into the narrow confines of the subjective perception of consciousness based on conceptual mind (yid-shey). The influence of this entrenched habit causes sensory appearances perceived in confusion to manifest in all their variety. This is like the appearance of a hallucination when pressure is applied to the optic nerve or when one’s nervous system is disturbed by an imbalance of subtle energy (lung).
“Sensory appearances manifest from the ground of being in all their variety in view of a consciousness that conceives of an ‘I,’ yet they do not diverge from or occur outside of that ground. This is like the case of an adept who has gained mastery (wang gyur-wa) over states of meditative absorption (ting-nge-dzin) that permit the emanation and control of phantoms. Although a variety of phantoms manifest when such an individual is engaged in this process of emanation and control, in actuality these phantoms are free of any basis and have never existed as real objects.
“Ah, my incredible little child, meditate progressively in this way and, having realized that all sensory appearances are illusory, you will become a yogin of illusion.”
Saying this, he vanished.
