Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

and that the following main part is deeper and more important.

As it is said in the oral lineage, compared to the main part, the preliminaries are more profound.

For instance, when we build a house,

If the foundation is firm, we can easily construct many hundreds of stories on top.

Without a stable base, the whole house, however tall it may be, will never be stable.

To keep an eye on whether one is distracted or not, first of all one needs effortful mindfulness.

When that slowly, slowly has become habituated, it becomes effortless.

When effortful mindfulness has become self-sustained, there is a vivid, wakeful, effortless state of being awake, without any need for force or struggle, without any rigidity, just naturally alert.

It is said, sustain primordially free awareness with natural mindfulness.

That means without being distracted, without being carried away, exactly as it is, rest freely.

Although this self-abiding non-distraction is called mindfulness,

The moment of recognizing mind essence totally interrupts the karma and obscurations for that moment.

It purifies the negative karma that has been continued from the past and it interrupts any creation henceforth.

As long as this recognition lasts, karma and obscurations are thoroughly and completely ended.

Complete stability in the recognition of the empty cognizance therefore involves the total elimination of all obscurations and negative karma.

So, what is recognized when we say recognize?

It means seeing that the nature of mind is an unconfined, empty cognizance.

This is the real condition, the natural state of the three kayas.

Dualistic mind's activity of thinking arises as the expression of unrecognized awareness.

Once you recognize basic awareness, the display of thoughts loses all power and simply dissolves into the expanse of Buddha nature.