Bridging Traditions: Insights from Christian Meditation and Buddhist Mahamudra and Dzogchen

Christian meditation and Buddhist nondual practices like Mahamudra and Dzogchen offer profound ways to explore consciousness and spiritual awareness. While these traditions come from different cultural and religious backgrounds, their contemplative methods share surprising similarities and can enrich each other. This post examines how Christian contemplation can benefit from the advanced meditative techniques of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, revealing fresh perspectives on the nature of mind and awareness. It also explores how Christian contemplation can take Mahamudra and Dzogchen beyond their current pinnacled attainments.

Understanding Christian Meditation

Christian meditation focuses on deepening one’s relationship with God through prayerful reflection and silent contemplation. It often involves focusing on scripture, sacred words, or the presence of God, aiming to quiet the mind and open the heart. The goal is to experience God’s love and presence more fully, leading to transformation and inner peace.

Christian contemplatives seek to move beyond discursive thoughts to a state of restful awareness, where the soul can encounter divine reality directly. This practice has roots in the Desert Fathers and Mothers and continues in traditions like Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina. The World Community for Christian Meditation led by Fr. Lawrence Freeman, OSB teaches and transmits the practice of the Christian mantra "Maranatha" as taught by the late Fr. John Main, OSB. This is the form of Christian meditation that I examine here in this post.

Mahamudra: Recognizing the Mind’s Nature

Mahamudra, a key practice in Tibetan Buddhism, emphasizes recognizing the mind’s true nature. It teaches practitioners to see both the relative and ultimate aspects of consciousness. The relative nature of mind is its clear and knowing nature, otherwise termed its luminous and aware nature. Luminosity or clarity means that the mind is by nature capable of illuminating appearances, which are sensory and mental events that occur from moment to moment. Sensory events are sensations and perceptions appearing unimpededly in the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile spheres of experience. For example, the sensation and perception of a blue shirt appearing to visual consciousness by way of its shape and colour; or that of the trickling mountain stream appearing to auditory consciousness by way of its sound; or that of a cool autumn breeze appearing to tactile consciousness by way of touch to the skin. Mental events are thoughts, feelings, intentions, and choices that occur unceasingly from moment to moment in our mind continuum. Like sensory events, mental events also occur unimpededly in the lucid space of the mind.

Awareness or knowing is the mind's capacity for experiencing, noting, and observing each moment of appearance through any of the sensory and mental channels. The mind is thus not only a process that illuminates appearances but is also an agent of aware knowing of these appearances. Awareness or knowing is thus the very heart of what it means to be conscious beings. For consciousness is none other than being aware, lucid, and knowing all at once. Taken together, we can say that mind is that which is luminous and aware or clear and knowing. They both mean the same thing. In short, anything that is called a mind is necessarily luminous and aware or clear and knowing. Just like fire is that which is hot and burning or water is that which is moist and flowing.

The ultimate nature of mind is the emptiness of inherent existence of this clear knowing or luminous awareness itself. When searched for and probed into, this luminous awareness can never be found as some inherent, isolated, and independent entity. Seeing and knowing this deep truth of the nature of mind is absolutely crucial for breaking through out thick delusions about self, entityness, and inherency.

The practice of Mahamudra meditation involves:

• Direct recognition of mind’s relative nature without conceptual elaboration, seeing all sensory and mental appearances (content of experience) as nothing other than the mind's innate luminosity.

• Direct recognition of mind's ultimate nature without conceptual elaboration, seeing the luminous and aware mind as devoid of inherent existence - its emptiness.

• Abiding in that twofold recognition continuously, allowing wise seeing to flow naturally.

• Remaining undisturbed by sensory appearances, understanding them as empty displays of consciousness. This is termed the spontaneous manifestation of the nature of mind.

• Recognizing that spontaneous manifestation is self-liberation, meaning that every physical and mental event or appearance is naturally self-liberated in their own place without grasping at self or generating afflictive states of mind.

This approach helps meditators develop a clear, stable awareness that is free from attachment and distraction. It cultivates insight into how appearances arise and dissolve within the mind’s spacious openness, seeing and knowing that appearances are nothing other than spontaneous displays of mind itself devoid of any reified self or identity.

Dzogchen: Resting in Pristine Awareness

Dzogchen, often described as the pinnacle of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, focuses on resting in the naked, pristine awareness that is the fundamental nature of being. Unlike the Mahamudra emphasis on recognizing mind’s nature, Dzogchen invites practitioners to directly experience the natural state without effort or alteration.

Key elements include:

• Pointing out of naked pristine awareness by a qualified Dzogchen teacher.

• Resting effortlessly in the natural state of pristine awareness.

• Using subtle body techniques such as striking critical points and adopting yogic postures.

• Eliciting spontaneous visions of rainbow orbs and strands, which symbolize the essential nature of appearances out of the expansive ground of awareness.

These visions are not mere hallucinations but direct insights into the fabric of reality, akin to glimpsing the quark- and string-like structure of matter. Dzogchen practice encourages openness to these experiences as expressions of the mind’s innate clarity or luminosity.

Points of Convergence and Dialogue

Christian meditation and Buddhist nondual approaches share a focus on moving beyond ordinary mental chatter to a direct experience of reality. Both traditions value:

• Stillness and silence as gateways to deeper awareness.

• Non-attachment to passing thoughts and sensory input.

• A transformative encounter with the ultimate nature of being.

Christian contemplatives can learn from Mahamudra's clear instructions on recognizing the mind’s dual aspects and Dzogchen’s emphasis on effortless resting in awareness. These methods offer practical tools to deepen Christian contemplation beyond verbal prayer and reflection. In fact, Christian contemplation, though somewhat marginalized as a practice in modernity, does take one into the heart of one's being: the spirit. This can be seen as the deepest dimension of our existence, our very consciousness itself, that is the source of life and experience. In descending from the busy mind into the clear stillness of the heart, where consciousness is, Christian contemplation offers vocal prayer, focused reflection, mantra resonance, and even nondual abidance in awareness itself. As an example of this nondual restive awareness practice, Augustinian priest and monastic Fr. Martin Laird, OSA writes: "You are the silent, vast awareness. Shift your attention from the mind game to the awareness itself, to the being aware. Here you keep silent vigil, silent awareness gazing into silent awareness."^

Conversely, Buddhist practitioners may find inspiration in Christian meditation’s relational focus on divine love and grace, which can balance the often impersonal tone of nondual awareness. Christian meditation challenges the Buddhist to reconsider their understanding of reality as naturalistic and non-personal, fully contained with the empirical investigation into mind (cognitive, affective, conative, attentional, and ethical operations) and consciousness (spiritual and cognizant functions) alone. For in addition to these aforementioned elements of human experience, there is a relational dimension that is perhaps more fundamental but often if not always neglected in Buddhist discourse. As human beings, relationality and relationship are fundamental and necessary for existence. There is no autonomous, isolated, independent existence, as Buddhists rightly identified. More than that, existence is inescapably relational in nature and relationship between persons (not impersonal things or events) is not optional.

Christian meditation would stretch Buddhist thinking to include relationship in their contemplative experience. Beyond the deepest states of serene stillness and the highest degrees of deep insight and nondual awareness, there is something else. This is the irreplaceable non-optional relationship between creature and Creator, between the human person and the personal God. For without God, there is no explanation for why there is something rather than nothing. Without God, there is no final purpose or telos for one's existence and spiritual evolution that is sufficiently substantive and worthy of our total commitment. In Christian meditation, the contemplative begins to enter the realm of divine-human relationality exactly where Buddhist serene stillness, deep insight, and nondual wisdom end. As the contemplative rests nondually in naked awareness realized on the basis of previous mastery of serene stillness and deep insight and pointing-out instructions from a teacher, they begin to intuit the presence of God's Presence beyond the very expanse of empty luminous awareness that is pristine, naked, and free (rigpa). God's Presence is not devoid of the sterling qualities of rigpa but has them to the fullest extent.

More than that, God's Presence which is the Christ Presence is intensely personal and intimate: He knows us to the very core and in every minute detail yet never stops loving us, caring for us, and sacrificing himself for us in self-emptying love (agape). Self-emptying (kenosis) is God's attitude and act of pouring out all that he is for us without reservation and without holding anything back. Christ gives himself competently to us and we are gratuitously redeemed, restored, healed, and transformed by his Presence and Power in our lives. In Christian meditation, we can catch a glimpse of God's self-emptying love as we are drawn into the perichoresis dance of love of the triune God by his grace and in his Spirit. We can relate personally to and intimately with Christ, loving and being loved in return. In this flow of divine sweetness of a personal relationship with Christ, our contemplative practice reaches an exquisite height never reached before. This height is at the same time the lowest depth, the very ground of self-forgetting humility where the ego is abandoned in sweet surrender. Beyond rigpa is the unitive abidance of the contemplative in the loving dance of the Spirit, that is the eternal prayerful love of the Son for Father and the eternal torrent of love from Father to Son. This communion dance of love can be called the processual supra-rigpa of God, the Trinity - the very epitome of agape.

Practical Suggestions for Contemplatives

For those interested in integrating insights from these traditions, here are some practical steps:

• Begin with Centering Prayer or  Christian mantra meditation to cultivate inner stillness and blissful clarity.

• Explore Mahamudra’s approach by observing thoughts and sensations without judgment, noting their empty and transient nature.

• Deepen your Mahamudra experience by recognizing the relative nature of luminosity and awareness of your mind.

• Fathom Mahamudra by way of penetrating into the very nature of that luminous awareness itself, seeing its emptiness of inherency in stillness and later in movement (that is, with thinking and feeling).

• Experiment with Dzogchen’s resting practice by allowing awareness to settle naturally without effort, letting the preceding Mahanudra experience to sink even deeper than ever before.

• Sustain the flow of Dzogchen by diving deep into the centreless centre of the open expanse of empty luminous awareness beyond reification.

• Rest and abide in Dzogchen by way of resting effortlessly in the crystal clear stream of lucidity and naked knowing that is rigpa.

• Restfully and effortlessly allow the subtlest expressions of pre awareness to spontaneously manifest in the vast expanse, not conjuring them but nakedly allowing and seeing them emerge in colorful form, variety, and splendour.

• Remain nakedly humble and receptive, seeing and knowing the fabric of experiential reality without elation or depression, without accepting or rejecting.

• Let the sheer responsiveness and naked love at the heart of rigpa shine forth in spontaneous wonderment and intimacy, reaching beyond itself even as the Beyond reaches towards you.

• Be totally open to thee currents of grace that descend into the vast expanse of rigpa to shatter it, infuse it with new convicting knowledge illumination into the eternal presence and finished work of Christ as the absolute Presence.

• Let through, let be, and let go of all that you think that you are, have been, must be, or will be, as you receive with total surrender all that is conferred upon you by grace (unmerited favor) through faith (illuminating and convicting wisdom) in the Spirit speaking the scintillating glories of the cross of Christ from incarnation to crucifixion to resurrection to ascension.

• Prayerfully conclude with some closing words and meditations in thanksgiving and loving surrender.

• Maintain an open mind and respect for each tradition’s unique language and symbols, in the course of your everyday life and practice.

• Engage in dialogue with practitioners from both traditions to share experiences and deepen understanding.

This cross-traditional exploration can enrich one’s spiritual journey, offering new ways to experience the sacred and the nature of consciousness. It might seem challenging and uncomfortable for one steeped in one’s own tradition to attempt to step out into the wild frontier of the Other. But if we are true to our commitment as contemplatives, this self-defensive fear should not deter us. Let us be courageous and step out into the wild frontier of the Other, in deep honour and humility, stripped of our old, conditioned fixations.

Embracing a Shared Path of Awareness

The conversation between Christian meditation and Buddhist nondual practices like Mahamudra and Dzogchen reveals a shared human quest: to know the true nature of mind and reality. By bridging these traditions, contemplatives can access a wider range of tools and insights that support deeper spiritual growth. More than that, this conversation also shows where each tradition's emphasis lies and how each tradition offers its unique contribution. Christian meditation, while acknowledging and embracing all that is good and true in Buddhist nondual practices, takes contemplatives beyond the mind to the divine and absolute source, ground, and finality (telos) underpinning all creation and reality. This transcendental move towards God as ineffable absolute is at the same time a journey of relational intimacy that ultimately fulfils our humanity without succumbing to grasping at extremes of inherency or non-inherency.

This dialogue encourages openness, humility, and curiosity. It invites practitioners to move beyond boundaries and discover the universal qualities of awareness, love, and peace that underlie all genuine spiritual paths. Are we open and mature enough to undertake this challenge of mutuality and dialogue, to stretch beyond our comfort zones and be lifted higher than we can ever imagine?

I do pray and hope so.

Notes:

^ Martin Laird. Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 88.