There are as many teachings as there are thoughts
It is said that there are as many teachings as there are thoughts, so the Dharma offers many different teachings to address the various obscurations.
The goal in using practices such as Kum Nye, TSK, or Nyingma meditation is to gain access to the realm of our thoughts.
By directly experiencing the field, energy, and content of thoughts, we can free ourselves from being blindly led by our minds. This brings us true freedom and strength, freeing us from suffering and emotional entrapment.
Gaining access to the realm of ideas does not rely on frameworks or psychological theories, but on direct experience. By connecting with our own minds, we can unlock thoughts through contemplation; we can comprehend without the need for an intermediary.
The first step is to recognize that we are not free, that we are ensnared in a web of emotions and thoughts. The more aware we become of this fact, the easier it is to break the chains that bind us. As this process of liberation becomes simpler, our understanding deepens.
Eventually, we can directly access the essence of knowledge, discovering its life-giving power and abundance, and, as a result, uncover real significance and value. This revelation is like coming home.
Exploring the realm of ideas does not require any specific methods or theories, but rather relies on direct personal experience. By connecting with our own innermost thoughts, we can open up our minds to new possibilities and gain insight without the need for an external interpreter.
When we understand this key point, many teachings prove to be related and many points can be reduced to one point.
Once we can be friendly with our thoughts, we discover that our difficulties are not so overwhelming after all. We can be very direct: Without interpretation, we can look at how our present situation arose.
We do not need to take positions or insist on one particular teaching to which we attempt to relate everything else. This approach is more simple than trying to find an ultimate position. If we look, we see that mind works a particular way.
Through seeing this, we realize that we have some choice in the matter. We come to direct knowledge:
Seeing, hearing, and touching become knowledge, and each particular thought becomes knowledge. The whole of our being becomes a knowledge body.
The Dharma provides various teachings due to the variety of karmic obscurations that exist. People have different kinds of thoughts, patterns, and images, and each of these represent a different type of obscuration.
