Why Do We Offer a Dedication at the End of a Meditation?

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

listen to this quote as you read:

And in this way we also always generate a dedication; we offer the merit of the event to all sentient beings. When samadhi is present when the formless nirvikalpa samadhi the pure speech of the creation is present it is boundless and on one level it is present in this room but when we offer it in dedication to the world system it traverses the world and produces an expression of total unity in truth, a total unity in dharma. Uplifting all beings and uplifting ourselves.

If we try to hold it within ourselves we haven’t understood and we think that we have something, we’ve gained something and we don’t want to lose it or if we give it to another person that we are that much diminished but in truth it is much more like a flame lighting another flame.

You can take a flame and light another flame and the original flame is undiminished. This is its nature.

Inside this dedication is a constant idea of generosity and it comes from where we are coming from. If we perceive ourselves as a bound afflicted being then we will see ourselves as being under such and such a situation and having so much. And if we give it away we are diminished by that much. We have lost.

But if we understand ourselves from the absolute sense, experience ourselves from the absolute sense there is no separation no diminishment and all beings are uplifted.

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Excerpt from the Mahasamadhi Retreat - Intersection With The Guru, October 2, 2009

The Self

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The idea inherent in mysticism is that one uses the substance and constituents of one's own being as a pathway through the creation to connect with the innermost state of the Self.

The idea of the Self is very profound and subtle, and is one of the most recent ideas to have arisen in the scriptures; it refers to that point of union wherein individual identity and universal consciousness meet.

It is the very fabric of your own consciousness and all the qualities of your being that are the vehicle through which you travel for this conversation to occur. Nothing is transcended, nothing is left behind, everything is used.

Swift Water

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

It's the nature of the Guru's grace to keep you in swift water. Thus you must learn to navigate swift water, and this is where the Bodhicitta comes into play. What we consider our lives are the assembly of our perceptions, and the first nexus point of perception is in the Bodhicitta.

The heart and the mind need each other to operate correctly. This is the essence of the Bodhicitta—they are joined together. The mind alone is an imperfect perceiver. The heart alone is an imperfect perceiver. Knit together they begin to function as they were intended to function.

Bodhicitta is the deep, abiding relaxation of heart and mind which doesn't try to control everything but sits open—without fear, without judgment, and deeply accepting. You find yourself at the right spot, at the right time, vividly present as you become excruciatingly awake to every fiber of consciousness.

What's the meaning of Om Swaha?

The Om Swaha: remember how we were talking about the triangle at the crown of the head, and I said that the three points of the triangle represent the power of the guru – one corner represents the Om, one represents the So, one represents the Ham; in other words, those reflect the three psychic nerves of ida, pingala and sushumna.  At the center of that triangle is infinite jet-black consciousness, pure consciousness.  The Om Swaha is the signature of the three psychic nerves, of sushumna, ida and pingala.  In other words, you are resonating the essence of your being when you say Om Swaha; you go, Om, Swa, Ha, and your entire spinal cord, brain, sushumna, ida and pingala vibrate.  It carries the point of a signifier of, 'Yes, this is complete.', it is completed in an auspicious way, well done, complete – Om Swaha – it's done, it's over, it's sealed, it's packaged, it's got a bow on it, and you can go on to the next thing

Life is the fountain from which all blessings flow

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

Life is the fountain from which all blessings flow. Everything that is meant for you by God, Guru, and Self will appear by virtue of life. How you get to it is the great mystery that lies between destiny and fate.

Destiny is irresistible; it cannot be changed even by God. But fate flows swift and fickle. How quickly you see the truth of a situation, the cost of a moment of hesitation, the cost of a mistake, the rush of victory when you make all the right choices – this is your fate.

Your destiny is to awaken in the ocean of consciousness. The rivers and paths that you take to get there is your fate.

Bodhicitta

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

Bodhicitta is the ideal of enlightenment, and the love of that enlightenment that we use to turn our hearts and minds away from the path of degradation and the endless formation of karma, to the generation of virtuous action. We begin to actively consider the ideals of love, compassion, generosity, kindness, patience. We begin to actively reject the dark energies of jealousy, hatred, greed, envy.

The Bodhicitta is the seat of the deep heart, the place where all four bodies intersect: the physical body of matter, the subtle physical body of energy, the causal body of mind and mental formation, and atman the throb of pure consciousness.

The Bodhicitta is a fountain of one hundred fibers that connect to the brain from this seat in the heart, animating the space between the heart and the brain and producing the event that we call existence, all the dynamics of separate existence, all the qualities of being.

In its highest form, the Bodhicitta is a distillation of consciousness at the top of the central nerve which forms a white drop whose movement from the crown of the head down through the brain and into the heart is one of the agencies of the highest mysticism.

The Bodhicitta is all of these things - deeper, and deeper, and ever deeper. It is the cosmic force of creation and the ocean of infinite consciousness expressing themselves in the fabric of the life of the individual. It is every thought, every feeling that you have ever had in the chain of your existence. It is all the dynamics of every desire of your being every hope, every success, every failure, every lesson learned. It is the living, breathing, soft, tender center of life, where the awesome force of God and the infinite sweep of creation arise inside each and every heart and mind.

The Guru moderates the speed of the unraveling of the karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The optimum situation is one in which you maintain a sense of identity as the universal identity is brought forth. If a person gets too much energy too fast they lose touch with the world. The landmarks of their reality change so quickly that they can't keep up with them and become disoriented. The Guru moderates the speed of the unraveling of the karma so that you feel more or less like yourself as you go through all this. You feel a constant sense of pressure and change, but maintain a sense of identity and remain connected to the world.