Book: Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition
Quotes of Book: Pointing Out the Great Way:
Examples of aggregated simple appearances occurring during concentration include: seeds {thig le}, subtle attributes {mtshan ma phra mo}, and light rays {od zer gyi yan lag; JP, f. 36b}. These are all experienced as a consequence of visualization. Because they appear during meditation, they are classified as perceptual events, and are therefore considered to be supports to concentration training.366 Seeds {thig le} are the most common type of aggregated simple appearance used in concentration training. A seed is a highly condensed perceptual event. In its simplest absorbed {bsdu ba'i thig le} form a seed is largely undifferentiated. A seed no longer pertains to a single sense modality like a visual form, but has "condensed the six sense systems into one" {RD, p. 6}. A seed is the pool of sensory information occurring prior to the occurrence of a specific perception. A seed condenses all potential phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa within it. If it were thoroughly analyzed, the practitioner would find the seed ultimately to be the essential nature {rang bzhin} of all phenomena, namely space. Yet, just as something seems to arise from nothing, specific appearances come forth from a seed. book-quote
