In Celebration of the Dalai Lama's 84th Birthday 7/6
"The
deep nature of mindfulness is made explicitly clear in the teachings on
the nature of mind found within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Some
years ago in London the Dalai Lama explained that '... there are two
kinds of mindfulness: contrived and natural.' While
we can 'practice' contrived mindfulness through effort and intention,
'natural mindfulness' is engaged simply by remaining “naturally
and gently in the essence of awareness itself.” He explained that as
soon as the mind is disturbed by ordinary notions and reifications, we
become lost in identifying with the contents of the contrived mind. Yet
underlying this ever-changing creative display of mental activity is our
true nature, or home, of natural mindfulness, an elusive
though accessible quality of effortless, abiding, natural awareness
(rigpa) That is the ever-present dimension of awake awareness within each of us in every moment of our lives. The Dalai Lama acknowledges that this experience of natural mindfulness, or rigpa, 'is beyond words, thoughts, and expression and is difficult to communicate.'