Finding the Nature of Mind within Appearances

Presented on October 31, 2025 to a small group of long-term retreaters at Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, this succinct talk and guided meditation offer the wisdom and practical advice of some of the luminaries of the Mahamudra and Dzogchen tradition for how to use the appearances that naturally arise between formal meditation sessions to continue and deepen the vipashyana experiences reached during formal practice sessions.

Based on the Ninth Karmapa’s pith advice on “The Four Recognitions,” this approach views appearances of external objects as not a distraction from single-pointedness, but rather as being events with the potential for discovering the empty nature of the awareness that perceives these appearances.

Lama B. Alan Wallace joins in responding to questions from the audience about this powerful practice.