Introduction

Ngala Nor'dzin Spacious Passion explores 'The Four Thoughts that

Turn the Mind to Practice' from the perspective of Inner Tantra. For a
long time the book had the orking title 'Forepla!' " a pla!ful
reference to the fourfold structure of the practices# to their preliminar!
nature as the ng$ndro to sutric practice# and to the practices having the
same 'flavour' as the actual practice of sutra. %handro &'chen
suggested its final title# (pacious Passion.' The )uestion and anser
sessions at the end of each chapter ere created from the )uestions
asked during readings of the book at retreats# stud! groups and
meetings of the *ardiff +a,ra!ana -uddhist Meditation .roup.
Chapter 1 Awakening
/&harma teachers continuall! emphasise the need to practice. &harma
must be practised. 0e must engage in the methods it offers in order to
arrive even at the initial stages of aakening. '1akening' is hat is
offered b! &harma. 0e are offered the opportunit! to aaken from
our delusion# from our limited vie. To engage ith practice re)uires
a degree of belief and acceptance of the vie and methods offered.
0e cannot experience aakening ithout having recognised# to
hatever degree# that e are asleep. 0e cannot aaken ithout
engaging in the methodolog! involved ith aakening. This is not to
sa! that &harma is the onl! religion that offers effective and tested
methods of aakening. It is simpl! that this is a book ritten b! a
&harma practitioner# about &harma# and so ill inevitabl! speak from
that perspective. I make no apolog! for m! bias. I love the path of
+a,ra!ana -uddhism# and I ish to offer a glimpse of the
opportunities it continuall! offers me. The experiences to hich I
refer# and upon hich I rel!# are a natural expression of m! on life
and practice rather than an argument in favour of +a,ra!ana above all
other religions./
The first chapter compares and contrasts religion and philosoph!. It
looks at the different !anas 2vehicles3 of -uddhism and explains that
the! offer method# not truth.
Chapter 2 Sky Mind
/0e could call these to aspects cloud mind and (k! Mind. *loud
mind is the ebb and flo of conceptual mind# and (k! Mind is the still
potential of the nature4of4mind. *louds arise in the sk!# flit across it
and decorate it# but do not limit or define the vast empt! blueness of
sk!. (k! ala!s has the potential for cloud to arise. *loud is a natural
aspect of sk!# but sk! is not limited b! cloud. (k! exists irrespective
of cloud# but cloud cannot exist irrespective of sk!./
The fundamental principle of -uddhism is the non4dualit! of
emptiness and form. The second chapter examines methods to
discover emptiness# so that this non4dualit! can be approached.
Chapter 3 Spontaneity
/1s the path of spontaneit!# the methods of &zogchen are fantasticall!
subtle. The opportunit! to embrace experience from the &zogchen
perspective is ever4present# but those ho have received &zogchen
teaching recognise that the! are not ala!s at the base of &zogchen
vie. The base of this vie is non4dualit! " the experience of the non4
dualit! of emptiness and form in the moment. To be ever4present at
this base# ould mean e are both full! engaged ith the path# and
realising the fruit of the practice in the moment. This is realisation and
e must acknoledge that e are not ala!s present in the base# path
and fruit of &zogchen. 5ence practitioners of lineages based in
&zogchen# also practice (utra and Tantra. From the perspective of
&zogchen# Tantra and (utra are not seen as lesser vehicles " it is a
)uestion of pragmatics and being genuine about the vie one is able
to live# at an! moment in time. The most efficacious practice is ala!s
that hich enables one to return to openness# and to the possiblit! of
the direct experience of the non4dualit! of emptiness and form.6
*hapter three tells of the importance of opening vie. (utra and
Tantra are available as methods of practice to the practitioner ho
bases their vie in &zogchen. The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind
to Practice are introduced as an opportunit! to open vie and full!
engage in &harma.
Chapter 4 - Coming up for Air
/The ph!sicalit! of being born human is not unusual. It is being
human 4 in the sense of a precious human rebirth 4 that is rare. 7ven
though e look human# e spend little of our time manifesting the
potential of the precious human realm. 0e dell more often in mind4
moments hich exhibit the characteristics of the other realms#
especiall! the loer realms. 1nger is a poerful and primitive
emotion# so e ma! actuall! exist in hell realm states of mind for
much of our time./
This chapter discusses the first of the Four Thoughts " the
Preciousness of the Perfect 5uman 8ebirth. It looks at the six realms
of existence9 gods# ,ealous gods# humans# animals# hungr! ghosts and
hell beings: and examines ho e c!cle through these mind states.
Chapter 5 Infinite Impermanence
/Impermanence is a cause for celebration. Impermanence is our
opportunit! to discover presence. Present moments are infinite. The!
ill never end. 0e ill never cease to have opportunities to start
again. 0e ill never cease to have opportunities to experience
presence. 0e ill ala!s have the opportunit! for this moment to be
the moment hen e dell in presence. The hate and anger of the
past moment is gone# over# lost forever and never need be revisited.
The potential for love and appreciation in the present moment can
never be destro!ed# and leads into another moment of potential love
and appreciation. 5o onderful;/
*hapter five looks at impermanence as a continuous thread of
opportunit!. The second of the Four Thoughts teaches us to aaken to
presence to discover this continuit! of mind4moments.
Chapter Spark!ing "udd!e#
<=ur bodies and our orld are perfect as the! are. There is nothing
that e need to get rid of or purif! in order to discover nirvana. 0e
simpl! need to clarif! our vie. The belief that liberation re)uires us
to discover another concrete realm here ever!thing is perfect ill not
help us discover the perfection of here e are. The experience of
pure happiness and pleasure is available to us in this life. 0e can
experience the sparkle of enlightenment in a moment of loving or
laughter. Then e ma! start to onder h! e lose these moments./
%arma is the topic of the sixth chapter and the third of the Four
Thoughts. It is discussed in terms of 'perception and response' rather
than as 'cause and effect'. Through the opening of vie e discover
that e do not need to be governed b! the the neurotic patterning of
attraction# aversion and indifference.
Chapter $ %ue!!ing the Storm
<0hen e learn to be comfortable in the space of (k! Mind# e find
that e have discovered one of the most potent methods of
transforming dualistic perception and response into enlightened
perception and response. 0hen e discover spaciousness at the point
of intention# choice becomes a possibilit!. 0e realise e can go don
the usual furro# start a ne furro# or allo ever! perception be the
fresh# ne# clear# vivid experience of the moment. I can see that the
grass is green: I can hear the sound of m! beloved>s voice: I can smell
the roses: I can taste the hone!: and I can feel the caress of silk on m!
skin " for the first time# ever! time. -ecause ever! time is the first
time in this mind moment. 7ver! perception can be the ecstaticall!
empt! perception of no.6
The last of the Four Thoughts is the 'contemplation on the suffering of
samsara.' Dukkha " usuall! translated as 'suffering' " is discussed as
encompassing even the most subtle sensation of dissatisfaction that is
experienced even hen life is running smoothl!.
Chapter & Spaciou# "a##ion
/If e are kind and arm# e ill tend to expect others to be kind and
arm. 0e ill approach others ith an optimistic attitude. If met ith
aggression e are less likel! to respond ith aggression# because this
is not the stance from hich e began. .reeting people in a kindl!
a! offers them the opportunit! to respond in a kindl! a!. If the! do
not# this does not need to unseat our kindness. 0e can simpl! remain
kind. If aggression does upset our kindness so that e respond
defensivel!# then e ere ?earing> kindness as an artificial
definition# rather than as the nature of our being in the present
moment. If the earing of kindness is a good4hearted attempt to
become a compassionate person developing aareness# then e can
simpl! acknoledge that e lost it that time# let it go# and re4dress
ourselves in kindness. If e do this often enough over a long period of
time# eventuall! our ?cloak> of kindness becomes the )uintessence of
our being./
*hapter eight looks at the Four Noble Truths. It presents the last of the
Four Noble Truths " the Noble 7ightfold Path " as engagement ith
the path of &harma. 1lignment ith this method enables us to live
ith honour and integrit!.
Chapter ' Irrationa! (ea#on
/&evotion cannot be bluffed. It is difficult to express its )ualities in
ords. It is like being in love# in the conventional sense " !et more
expansive and ithout the aspect of lust. It is similar to the enriching
unconditional love e offer a child " !et the @ama is more like a
parent. It is both empoering and free. It is letting go of the
importance e place on the stresses of life# and embracing total
responsibilit!. It is release from the bondage of neurosis into
identification ith honour. &evotion has the deliciousl! ambiguous#
inexpressible )ualit! of +a,ra!ana itself. It is emptiness and form. It is
alloing oneself to dissolve into emptiness in relation to the @ama and
arising in the form of the @ama>s pure vie. It is freedom from the
bondage of referentialit!./
The final chapter discusses refuge as the 'securit! of no securit!'. The
importance of the role of the @ama in the fourfold refuge of @ama#
-uddha# &harma and (angha is examined. &evotion and commitment
to the @ama is recognised as the ground of +a,ra!ana# here
ultimatel! the practitioner gives the @ama permission to challenge
their rationale.