How can Time present itself in ways that do not conform to the patterns of known reality and knowing mind? … It may be that Time is a total energy, invariantly embracing the whole, but what will allow ‘us’ to embrace this possibility? KTS 110
These reflections about time remind me Kum Nye technique, presented by Tarthang Tulku as the art of developing balance through relaxation. In his book, Kum Nye Relaxation part 1, he says that when we relax we discover a quality of feeling, common to the body, breath and mind, that is calm and soft. When the body and the breath were calm and relaxed enough, a feeling of joy arises, and this feeling can become so abundant and deep, that is almost eternal.
Tarthang Tulku also says that, within the body and beyond, subtle energies nourish feelings of satisfaction and harmony. We ourselves integrate to this feeling, and we become inseparable of it, awakening an overall vitality, a feeling that accumulates constantly. Life becomes a continuous flow in the vast universe: every cell, every sense, each part of consciousness, of the past or the future is part of this flow.
When I am relaxed and calm enough, I feel my body filled with space, and the borders of my body seem to dissolve, leaving in the background all the substantiality. This spacious quality married with awareness allows an expansion of perception and experience. It is like space projecting space with no beginning and no end. To expand this experience it is like allowing it to continue.
My experience allows me to see that when body, breath and mind are integrated I am totally engaged in the energy of time, totally participating. Balanced and open I can drop all barriers of substantiality, separation and points of reference, I can expand my experience without limits, and see that past, present and future are melted into a common being.
When time opens to the invariable, experience continues ‘without change’, but its nature undergoes transformation. The rhythms of time are transcended into knowing; the ‘mechanism’ of understanding becomes the subtle part of time. ‘Measured-out’ existence is ‘gone’. All that remains is the Body of Knowledge, dwelling in all manifestations. KTS 109-110
Hi Michael,
I would like to add some more comments about Kum Nye and TSK.
In Tarthang Tulku´s words, Kum Nye is our meditation cushion. This is because the openness and the relaxation offered by Kum Nye lead us to observe the mind more clearly. When the body is relaxed, the speed of thoughts is lower and it is easier to see what is going on.
I would not say that Kum Nye is intellectual, but I see that openness and body awareness are valuable tools to develop an active knowing of our inner environment and see the connections of the mind, the body and our surroundings.
It is possible to say that TSK is a good companion that guide us to activate knowledge in our life, a valuable tool that helps us transcend the limitations to knowledge.
Hi Eliana,
It’s been a while since I did much Kum Nye, but I have appreciative memories of the feelings of wholeness and the rich sensations the practices evoke. Your post about Kum Nye raises a question for me. Why TSK, when Kum Nye can evoke a sense of wholeness that makes our embodiment a full participant? (No one would ever make the comment about Kum Nye–that Jack quoted this morning–that it seems abstract and intellectual). Perhaps part of the answer could be that TSK appeals to a different kind of mind? Perhaps also, TSK offers something that is rare to find in spirtual practices and yoga-type disciplines. TSK requires us to work through our ordinary mind, whereas Kum Nye can allow us to transcend–for a while–our tensions and indensifications. It may be a pitfall to feel that we are “progressing” in our TSK studies, but when we peel away the forms of the logos, it can sometimes feels to me that time and space really do come a bit closer.
I once worked on a ranch in Canada whitewashing storage buildings. A female goat just to join me and sip paint out of the can. She would also lay her head on my shoulder as I was painting. We seemed like good buddies. However if this persuaded me to try to pet her–like I would a dog or a cat–she would balk and pull back.
Perhaps TSK is like that goat. A great companion that provides a sense of standing alongside in daily activities, but when we try to embrace it as something already understood, it slips away.