This is an explained map of the attainments on the path to enlightenment. Attainment means experience. What I say below can be understood conceptually, and probably will make sense conceptually. However, until these are unquestionable facts of personal experience, one cannot truly understand what the concepts are pointing toward. Concepts are like theory's about existence. They can be well supported, but can never be proven; they can approximate, but can never be the real thing. Only direct experience, 'the real thing', is proof (for oneself) of truth about reality.
This explanation is long, so feel free to skip to parts of interest. However I will insert this cautionary advice that I also wrote below:
I must caution, and I want to make this quite clear: the dangers of practicing above your level are, you will not get anywhere! There's no point in being stuck, you could be progressing. If you're stuck, you're wasting your time. Thus, practice at your own level, humility pays!
Please don't misuse this map and attempt to do practices above your level of understanding, truly, from the heart, that is all I ask.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hinayana
1. 1st path (MCT
Slight reduction in neurosis, general boost in feelings of well being.
2. 2nd path
Very subtle, hardly noticeable, not much of a shift in awareness. What I experienced was a glitch and shaking in my vision; it rippled somewhat, as though something snapped into place, then had several settling vibrations.
3. 3rd path
Definite noticeable feeling of being done with something. The most obvious after effect is greatly improved confidence. I noticed this not only in myself, but also in one of my close friends who got it last summer (ha if you read this I hope you know who you are (JSR, haha)).
4. 4th path : Form is empty. --------------------------------------------------------------Mahayana
This is the first glimpse of emptiness. This attainment is expressed as seeing form to be empty. In this case form refers to thoughts. Up until 4th path, thoughts completely rule our minds, we see no alternative to conceptual thought, and thus we buy into it completely as if it were all there is. When 4th path is attained, the space between thoughts is seen. The way in which we buy into thoughts is still somewhat present, but now we cannot buy into them completely as if they were all that existed. Now we see thoughts on a backdrop of void, or space. The concepts, the form, or solidity of thought no longer stands. The thoughts, and their meaning is seen to be negated by space, empty of existing as a completely solid framework. Concepts arise as solid, but are then (immediately) negated by the space around them.
Here is an analogy: image you are standing in the middle of a quickly rotating cylinder. The cylinder has gaps in the sides, it is not solid, but it is spinning so fast that you perceive it to be totally solid and unbroken. Perceiving the cylinder to be solid, and with no knowledge of anything outside of it, in fact no conception of an outside, you know nothing but the interior of this cylinder; this is your world essentially. At 4th path, you could say that you suddenly see that there are gaps in the cylinder, and that there is a world outside. Your belief in the solidity of the cylinder world as you previously perceived it is shattered. The form, or solidity, or unbroken-ness of the cylinder is negated by the sight of a world beyond its walls.
However, you're still in the cylinder..
5. Emptiness also is form
This attainment consists of just a slight switch in perspective, like the center of your vision kind of resolved itself. In Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Chogyam Trungpa talks about how after the attainment of 'form is empty' (4), the meditator tries excessively hard to see the world as "naked of preconceptions". This is a good explanation of a tendency at 4th path to try too hard. This 5th attainment is not a big step, it really consists of relaxing somewhat, going outward, away from your conceptual self, a bit more.
6. Form is none other than emptiness
The titles in the Mahayana attainments come from the Heart Sutra, which is an implicit attainment guide (the Dalai Lama says this himself in The World of Tibetan Buddhism). These attainments are encapsulated in what is called the HEART sutra, for a reason! The attainments of the Mahayana, seen here, are about moving awareness from mind to heart. Mind is concept based, cold and calculating, lacking a warm felt sense of life. The heart on the other hand feels and is open to what is here now, without conceptual judgement. We need both to survive and be truly happy, but up until now, mostly we have relied on the mind. In order to progress in these attainments, one must move away from tight personal territory into openness to the world and situations. Most notably this includes openness to the pain we are actually feeling; like it or not, whether we deny it or not.
Thus, progression up through these attainments is greatly helped by Mahayana practices, such as Lojong (Lojong is very beneficial), in which the focus is on extending compassion for others, and opening ourselves to our pain. These are somewhat advanced practices. That is important to remember. The Mahayana teachings come after the long hard discipline of the Hinayana. A prime example and encapsulation of these teachings is the Lojong slogan: Gain and victory to others, loss and defeat to myself.
When you take defeat, are taking on your shittyness. You are taking on and just being with the parts of yourself that hate and judge other people. And you are sitting back with this shittyness, and letting others have the happiness that you so desire, and that they seem to posses. There is an element of recognizing the internal nature of our issues, and then sitting with them. You can't do such practices in a manner unkind to yourself, with an idea that you are bad and that's why you get defeat. That only results in suffering. Personally I strongly believe you have to have attained recognition of emptiness before you can use the Mahayana teachings for their true benefit. You have to do them in an aware way, aware already of some heart openness.
Back to attainment descriptions, this attainment (#6) is that of seeing that all things are empty. Form is naught but emptiness. At 4th path, concepts were seen in their solidity, only to be negated by the space (emptiness) in which they exist. At this stage (#6), to go back to the cylinder analogy, the cylinder itself is seen to be no different from the outside world. Now, all form is seen to be empty. Looking around, all things have the quality of space, of completely lacking substantiality. Of course physical reality is still solid as ever, all things are empty of any of our preconceptions.
At any rate, if you experience it, form is none-other than emptiness encapsulates it in a nutshell.
7. Emptiness is none other than form -------------------------------------------------Vajrayana (Mahamudra)
This is the final attainment in the Mahayana, and marks the transition between Mahayana and Vajrayana. A note: the time preceding this attainment was one of the few, and the most memorable time on the path where I thought I might well be going crazy. I heard a quote from Trungpa in which he told his wife he was at a stage where either you become enlightened, or you go crazy. At the time, I thought he may well have been referring to this stage. Do not fear though; I am not sure that one can go crazy from practice alone. It may simply be that in order to accomplish this stage, one must pass through a mental zone of intense neurosis, perhaps not dissimilar to the dark night everyone on here is probably familiar with.
The attainment of 'emptiness is none other than form' is marked by profound relief from issues regarding trying to open oneself. All of the emptiness of the world one was experiencing in the last stage was a little weird, a little disconcerting, but now one fully steps into it, one fully owns the experience so that it is no longer disconcerting, it is joyous. One perceives that though things are totally empty of preconceptions, there is indeed something out there, and it has a remarkable beauty. At this point, one has turned oneself outward to a profound degree, and is now perceiving true emptiness for the first time.
In the 4th stage (4th path) one experienced emptiness as that void which negated form. This experience was subtly built on in the subsequent attainments. In the 5th, there was seen to be something which composed the void. In the 6th, all things were seen to be composed of the void, or space. Now, in the 7th, one is looking at space directly and fully for the first time. One is directly experiencing emptiness, and it is truly quite an experience. Emptiness is not just empty space, it is that which composes all things in the universe. Constantly shifting and vibrating, it knows no fixation, no separation. It is all that is, and it composes all things.
That said, at this point one still is fixated on the idea of being a separate observer, and on various ideas of being in general. In order to overcome this, the entire Vajrayana path lies ahead.
8. - 19. The Mahamudra attainments
I have grouped these attainments together because they all fall under, or are described (as is the path to them), in the Kagyu (Tibetan Buddhist lineage) system of Mahamudra. These attainments are numerous, and quite slight, or subtle. I myself have little memory of the differentiations between the various stages as there were so many, and again they were so subtle. However, luckily for us all, these minute attainments have been described in detail in Kagyu texts, which in my opinion is an impressive feat, and for which I am very grateful. If you are curious (and I caution you, you had better only check this out if you're at this state, other wise Your Not Going To Get Anywhere!!) I recommend two books: Confusion Arises As Wisdom by Ringu Tulku for path instructions, and some subtle description of attainments, and Mind at Ease by Traleg Kyabgon for a comprehensive description of attainments.
I must caution however, and I want to make this quite clear: the dangers of practicing above your level are not mystical, your face is not going to melt off. What will happen is you will not get anywhere! This is pretty much the biggest danger on the path, and can occur at any time. Everyone wants enlightenment! If you are on the path and you get stuck, shit!, that's literally the worst that can happen! I mean that in a reassuring and very serious way too. There's no point in being stuck, you could be progressing! If you're stuck, you're wasting your time!! Thus, practice at your own level, humility pays!!
Please don't misuse this map and attempt to do practices above your level of understanding, truly, from the heart, that is all I ask.20. Recognition of thought as separate from observer------------------------------- (Dzogchen)
This is the fruition attaiment, the final attainment of Mahamudra, and switching point (as I have delineated it) to Dzogchen. The experience of this attainment is, in the words of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, seeing 'there is no place where thoughts arise or abide or go.' This describes it well. When it happens, thought arises, and is seen to be separate from the nature of mind, or in other words, recognition that you are yourself the nature of mind.
These higher attainments are hard to describe, but to be fair I'll do my best. Descriptions may be brief though.
21. Increasing
'When we recognize that appearances are mere ornaments of the real condition of existence, these appearances are self-liberated into their own condition whenever they arise.' - Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
This is an intermediate stage. Awareness is deepening, but a major shift is yet to occur (still coming).
22. Full recognition of Space as Awareness: 6th level of Shamatha
This stage is described by Namkhai Norbu as, 'Appearances and pure presence are inseparable. When we recognize this and find ourselves in this state, then the discursive thoughts arising which grasp at the duality of subject and object, are liberated into their own condition.
At this stage, awareness (of emptiness, that which is all things) is seen to be inseparable from the observer. This is a major stage, a major shift or attainment.
As for the correlation with the stages of shamatha, Turning the Mind into an Ally by Sakyong Mipham describes these well, and I will describe these based on that book.
The 6th level of stage of shamtha is described as a feeling of victory over mind, like a 'battle has been won' at last, and a great increase in mental energy and clarity.
23. 7th level of Shamatha
Though victory is accomplished, there are 'still a few enemy soldiers' running around.. Meditation continues..
24. 8th level
All discursive thought is gone, but still some effort must be applied in meditation.
25. 9th level
Our mind feels 'strong, stable, clear', 'like we could meditate forever'. Indeed this stage feels like perfection, but still we are peeling back subtle dualistic layers.
26. 10th level : Seeing through the self : 1st vision of Thodgal
The 7th - 9th stages could be described as minor shifts or attainments; sometime these are unclear, or not that well differentiated, and can be hard to line up with a map. The 10th is a major shift. It is exactly what it sounds like, seeing through the delusion of a separate self. Simply, the self, the concept of self arises to the mind, is seen to be separate, and passes away. This process occurs just as seeing through another thought. Many of you have no doubt experienced this: you're sitting, you have a thought, the mind sees that that thought is separate, and immediately the mind lets go of it, and the thought dissolves away immediately of its own accord. Totally natural, no force involved. Very ordinary really, only that this time this process occurs with the king of all thought, the concept of a separate self.
After this has occurred, still there is farther to go!
In visions of thodgal terms, this seeing through the self is the attainment, or entrance to the first vision, which is called; direct realization of reality.
One is now looking at reality, illusions of self gone, but subtle dualistic filters remain. This is what is eliminated as one progresses through the 4 visions.
The visions of thodgal are popularly known for the wild visions which are said to occur during them. I believe that how strongly these visions occur differs person to person, and also due to the attention with which you engage and focus on them. Personally I experienced visions of circles, mainly a small circle above a large circle, which looks like a person, or Buddha. Personally, at the part of me believed I was seeing Buddhas. As I progressed in the first vision, these circle visions got more intense, but as I got to the second vision, they diminished, and became somewhat unremarkable.
Were or were not these Buddha's, I cannot truly say. On the one hand, I do not believe strongly they were Buddhas, on the other hand, they may well have been. At higher levels on the path, mystical experience is not at all to be denied. I would not exactly say it is to be encouraged, but certainly it is to be heeded. As well I must say that prayer to Buddhist saints, especially Padmasambava, helped me to over come obstacles. I do not think this is too much to say. If you must know, the forces of the universe are willing to help, if you can be open and receptive. Om Ah Hung Vajra Guru Pema Siddhi Hung!
27. 2nd vision
The second vision is called: 'increasing experience'. It is an intermediate stage in which there is progression, but not completion.
28. 3rd
The third vision is known as: 'experience reaching full measure/maturity' Here, all things manifest as a beautiful dream, it is as though flowers are floating across your vision. Duality is not quite transcended, but you are ever so close, so close as to be done, to be enlightened, just one more step..
29. 4th : Enlightenment : eradication of dualistic thinking.------------------------------------------------
Then, out of the blue, it is seen that there is nothing at all which exists from its own side. In my experience, this occurred out of the blue, a feeling that my mind had been blown, and the recognition that there is no mind, there is no duality, all things exist as one cohesive field. Finality, done, duality is eradicated, grasping at thought is gone.
(path: working through karmic reservoir)
After enlightenment, I added the above stage on the map. After enlightenment, though no thought can shake your non-dual realization, still thoughts flow through your mind. They flow in, are not grasped at, and flow out the other side. These thoughts are recognized as false, mere conception, and pass out of mind, never to return. There is at this point a backlog of habitual beliefs and conceptual thought patterns, which could be referred to as the karmic storehouse, or reservoir. In this analogy, thoughts are karma, and the backlog of thoughts, the reservoir. Ordinarily, thoughts are not seen though, so they remain in the system, and come back to haunt you over and over. However, upon enlightenment, you are bound by no conceptual belief, so this backlog of thoughts can we worked through. This is done just as has been done on the entire path; the disciplined practice of sitting meditation.
30. State of Bliss : the end of the road : no more karma.
There comes a point where these rampant conceptual thoughts, this backlog of conceptual belief, is exhausted. At this point, one is free from thought, and at peace always, untroubled in the slightest. We can really only be troubled from within.
I hope that explained version helps, please ask for clarification if you have questions!
