Finding Rest in Illusion by Longchenpa [1]

“All phenomenal experiences are not truly there—they are unreal. We need to bring this recognition of appearance-emptiness into our ongoing experience. Longchenpa teaches us how to rest at ease in illusion, in order to recognize unborn luminosity continually during the daytime and nighttime.” -Khenpo Sherab Sangpo

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma lineage (bodhicittasangha.org), taught a retreat on "Finding Rest in Illusion" by Longchenpa on March 16, 2024. He used the root text, "A Wish-Fulfilling Gem: Guidance on the Meaning of Being at Ease with Illusion, A Dzogchen Teaching,” in which Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer shares oral instructions from his Dzogchen lineage that are the essential meaning of the Buddhist sūtras and tantras. This text explains how to meditate upon the eight similes of dream, illusion, hallucination, mirage, moon in water, echo, castles in the clouds, and apparition. Khenpo Sherab Sangpo focused his retreat teachings on explaining three stages of meditation instructions shared by Longchenpa: 1) the preliminary practice of guru yoga, 2) the main practice of recognizing mind and appearances as illusory, and 3) accomplishing meditative concentration (samādhi)—the ability to rest at ease without distraction in the ongoing experience of unborn luminosity (ösel). The retreat text and study resources for Longchenpa can be found on our website.