26 The Mixings A ctual instructions on sleep, dreams, and so on i Explanation o f sleep and dream mixing i Explanation of death and intermediate-state mixing Explanation o f sleep and dream mixing i Sleep mixing x Dream mixing Sleep mixing In the basic state yet to be purified, first the empty states of dreamless sleep occur followed by dreams Is the same fixed sequence followed on the path of practice—meditation o f mixing sleep with the clear light followed by mixing the dream state with illusory body? [169] On the basis of Five Stages stating that illusory body is the third stage and clear light is the fourth stage, some later followers of the Marpa tradition split up these two mixings and posited meditation of the illusory body o f the dream state as being the third stage and meditation on sleep clear light as fourth stage Serdingpas Five Points o f the Five Stages is correct, however, when it says that you apprehend the four empty states during the initial period of sleep and after that you arise in the sambhogakaya of the dream state, because the essence of the teachings on dreams is that the dream body arises as the sambhogakaya and that has to be preceded by the development o f the empty states Also, this corresponds exacdy to the order o f sleep and dream state in the basic state yet to be puri fied Moreover, the illusory body of the third stage has to be preceded by the empty states of mind isolation, and the illusory body of the stage of union has to be preceded by the empty states o f clear light The intermediate state arises from the empty states of death, and the generation-stage first lord arises 42.0 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages from the withdrawal of the imagined deities into the clear light These and others all follow the same pattern Therefore sleep clear light has the name “clear light,” but it is not true that below the stage of illusory body there is no illustrative clear light, as explained previously If the apprehending of sleep clear light precedes the meditation on dream illusory body, how is it apprehended? Generally, there are two ways of turn ing sleep into an entity of samadhi It is a fact that if you have attained the stable samadhi of quiescence as shared by the Great and Lower philosophi cal vehicles and by the Mantra and Perfection Vehicles, you will not need any special effort to make sleep a samadhi If, however, you actualize that samadhi in the waking state at the point of going to sleep and the continuation of that state is carried over into sleep, then it becomes entirely a samadhi that does not turn into ordinary sleep In the second method, when going to sleep, the four signs, such as the mirage, appear by bringing the winds into the dhutl W hen that is com pleted, the three empty states of the first moonlight-like appearance and so on will appear After that, sleep is generated into the entity of clear light like a pure and cloudless sky In the first method the four signs of the mirage and so on and the three appearances of moonlight and so on not appear Instead there arises the brightness and clarity of a pure vacuity This, however, has no connection with the clear light of sleep, and in order to develop such a state, none of the methods described in the Mantra Vehicle for apprehending sleep clear light are necessary It is thus not necessary to enter this vehicle in order to develop such a state Developing the clear light of sleep here, therefore, is accomplished by the power of the winds being brought into the dhutl and dissolved, as described by the second method In the waking state you practice the instructions on penetrating the vital points of the body [270] until you have at least developed the ability to pro duce the four empty states Then these empty states are mixed with the empty states of sleep If that were not the procedure, you would want to practice sleep mixing but would have nothing to mix During sleep, for the most part, the subtle coming and going of the breath at the nostrils is not stopped The complete halting of the subde breath, as found in the empty states of dis solution into the dhutl, is not to be found in the ordinary empty states of sleep, but that does not mean that the four empty states are not present Also, on that point, there is a great difference in the intensity of the winds gath ered at the heart and the level of dissolution of the coarse winds between the time of sleep before dreams arise and the time of sleep when they For the The M ixings 421 yogi who has the ability to mix the empty states of the waking state with the empty states of sleep, even the subtle flow at the nostrils must cease and dis solve into the dhutl when the empty states of sleep are generated In this pro cess, when going to sleep, the four signs of the mirage and so on may not at first appear in the correct order, but with training they will definitely occur in that sequence Therefore generating sleep into a samadhi without the pre ceding three empty states occurring in their correct order will not be the clear light of sleep, because for the all-empty state to arise, it has to be preceded by the empty state, the very empty state, and the greatly empty state, since these are in a causal chain Consequently, the clear-light forceful-method teachings from the Marpa tradition say that by setting a boundary of one month, you focus on the black and white drop placed at the center of the four-petal lotus at your heart and apprehend the empty states o f sleep Continual meditation day and night within the space of that month on that object of focus will make it easier to withdraw the winds for some practitioners This is pranayama meditation teachings on the indestructible drop at the heart It is also a mixing with sleep practice that must be preceded by the ability to induce the four empty states during the waking state, and it will not succeed by meditating only on the moment of falling asleep without meditating at other times of day and night Moreover, concentrating on the object at the moment of sleep and repeat edly meditating on it may well bring about a recognition of the empty states of sleep of ordinary existence, but it cannot cause the genuine empty states of the dissolved winds to arise Serdingpas Five Points o f the Five Stages says that to apprehend the empty states of sleep before the dream-mixing practice, a nu ta should be placed at the throat Metson also asserts that the meditation is at the throat Tsurtons assertion that this meditation is performed at the heart is because the clear-light meditation is performed at the heart while meditation on the illusory body of the dream state is performed at the throat He also explains that by focusing on the four letters of the petals, you join each letter to the apprehending of an empty state On the above assertions, it is correct that you should apprehend the empty states of sleep before the dream mixing, [2.71] but when they are apprehended and linked in this fashion, the lotus together with the drop should be meditated on at the heart, as asserted by Tsurton Therefore meditation at the throat is not correct W hen meditating on clear light, it has to be done at the heart because of its connection with the heart The meditation to apprehend dreams through the power o f aspiration 42.2 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages without the ability to practice dream mixing through the force o f the winds dissolving is performed at the throat, and it is important to separate this out The a nu ta meditation as taught by the so-called Triumph o f Nondual ity Tantra may well be asserted by some Indians also, but the instructions of Naropa advocate meditation on mantra circles at the heart and that whatever is not accomplished by these instructions is not going to be accomplished by these four syllables For these reasons, when apprehending the clear light of sleep, it is cor rect to follow the instructions of Marpa, which advocate meditation focused on the black and white drop at the heart This meditation involves placing the focus on the indestructible drop at the center of mantra circles at the heart Nonetheless, should you wish to elaborate on that meditation, you can arrange the mantra circles and perform the withdrawal processes as described previously Serdingpas Five Stages Complete on One Seat speaks of focusing on the four letters at the heart together with the drop in the center, performing vajra repetition and apprehending sleep clear light W hether the placement of these four letters is necessary or not has been discussed previously Focus ing on the drop at the heart, performing vajra repetition, and then appre hending sleep clear light is a truly wonderful instruction and expresses the meaning of a teaching from Explanation o f the Intention at the end of its explanation of the recitation for the winds of the four mandalas: Well explained as being of eighteen kinds, it is dwelling within them Just as within the pervading milk the fresh butter dwells, so does this peace dwell within PandaravasinI and the others.785 The tantra continues, “Seeing these inner phenomena, form, and so on,” up to “the yogi enters enlightenment.” Then: The incoming and outgoing breath of the yogi, the reality of the yoga as one, with wisdom dwelling in method, recite the mantras without decline In all activities also—lying down and so forth— ... and after that you arise in the sambhogakaya of the dream state, because the essence of the teachings on dreams is that the dream body arises as the sambhogakaya and that has to be preceded by the. .. death, and the generation-stage first lord arises 42.0 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages from the withdrawal of the imagined deities into the clear light These and others all follow the same... meditating on clear light, it has to be done at the heart because of its connection with the heart The meditation to apprehend dreams through the power o f aspiration 42.2 A Lamp to Illum inate the