Dear friends,
We’ve arrived at the fourth and final stage of shamatha: no object. If the previous stage was like a young bird leaping from the nest, suspended in space, this stage is its older sibling sweeping effortlessly through the open sky, no matter the conditions.
Chögyam Trungpa famously described this style of practice. He said: “The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is, there’s no ground.”
While the idea of free-falling might sound terrifying (or exhilarating!), the absence of ground offers us the chance to rest in presence without clinging to any reference point: not the breath, not a technique, not even a sense of self. The ability to relax into complete awareness allows for insight to arise more frequently and spontaneously, both on and off the cushion.
Put simply: the more settled the mind, the more often we can “wake up.”
In this week’s video, you’ll learn:
The technique, gaze, and quality of attention in the fourth stage of shamatha
How the previous three stages prepare us for this style of awareness
Why shamatha serves as a foundation for vipashyana
Why it’s important not to linger indefinitely in deepening states of calm
‘No Object’ Guided Meditation [10 minutes]
