Introduction to Open Heart
Open Heart is a meditative spiritual path centered around the timeless teachings of the ancient mahasiddhas. Founded by master Amrita Baba in 2008, our mission is to bring the highest teachings of yoga to modern seekers worldwide.
The foundation of our method is the view that all beings share enlightened nature, and that this nature is timelessly awake, alive, and unchanging. As such, first-hand recognition of our own true nature is the main focus of all our practices from beginning to end. Only through realizing the truth can we become free of the existential confusion and suffering that marks the human condition.
Our teachings are suitable for laypeople with families, work, and other normal responsibilities. We do not teach renunciation or withdrawal from the world, but fully embrace life with all its pains and pleasures, aiming to realize the ultimate truth of reality in the midst of everyday worldly affairs.
Mahasiddha Dharma
The term “mahasiddha” literally translates as “greatly perfected being”, and is commonly used in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions to refer to a highly influential group of ancient realized tantric yogic masters. It is important to note that the clear-cut distinction between “Buddhism” and “Hinduism” is a relatively modern invention, and as such would not have been recognized by the ancient mahasiddhas themselves. In other words, despite differences in philosophical views and practical approaches, to the realized masters the only distinction that matters is between the teachings that reveal reality as it is and the teachings that do not.
The Open Heart method is a continuation of this common-sensical view, and our objective is to revitalize the ancient yogas in the context of modern society. As such, our method cannot strictly be categorized as belonging to buddha dharma, nor to sanātana (hindu) dharma or any other established tradition, but represents a unique approach to spiritual practice in and of itself. In honor of our spiritual ancestors, we call our approach Mahasiddha Dharma.
Pragmatism
A key feature of Mahasiddha Dharma is that of pragmatism. That our teachings are pragmatic means that their sole function is to solve the existential dilemma; to put an end to the everyday discontentment of aimless existence. As such, we approach enlightenment, not as some abstract, philosophical, poetic, fantastical, or metaphorical concept, but as a living reality attainable by all living, breathing human beings.
Furthermore, our path to realizing enlightenment emphasizes first-hand experience over religious or philosophical beliefs. Our entire theoretical framework, including our path maps, should therefore be viewed as hypotheses verifiable only through first-hand practice.
To support individual spiritual maturation, we promote openness and transparency in the sense that we encourage spiritual practitioners to speak openly about their experiences and insights without secrecy, mystery, or taboo. While we recognize that teachers of other cultures might have found secrecy a necessity, in our modern culture we deem the absence of open dialogue as doing more harm than good.
Similarly, we oppose any form of sectarianism. It is our view that as practitioners, we should not allow ourselves to become preoccupied with mere forms alone, but seek to understand the universal principles behind various different spiritual approaches. First and foremost among these principles is the direct insight into the nature of reality itself.
View
Theory without practice is empty, practice without theory is blind.
-Anonymous
All methodologies, whether secular or spiritual, operate on the basis of a fundamental view. The view makes up the basic way of looking at, and approaching a particular field of study or art. It is the basic paradigm intended to guide the correct application of the method in question. It does so both by instilling practitioners with the necessary conceptual understanding of the method itself, as well as by acting as a map for the entire field in which the method is applied. As such, whereas a high-quality framework has the power to open up new possibilities in terms of actual results, a poor-quality view, on the other hand, can significantly limit the potential of any method. Therefore, in order to ensure our success in applying the Open Heart method, we must first clarify the basic view of our spiritual approach.
The view of Open Heart springs forth from the direct realization of the enlightened nature of being. It is not merely a set of beliefs or assumptions but is based on the direct insight that the nature of reality or mind is always already perfect. It is the view that the ordinary mind is by nature completely and clearly awake, radiant with kindness and love, and perfectly peaceful and stable. As these enlightened qualities represent the very nature of being, they are naturally inherent in all beings. As such, the view can be formulated in the statement that all beings share enlightened nature.
Amrita Baba says,
There is one thing I want to clarify to you. There is a perfectly awake and aware, and perfectly pure Buddha in you. That’s who you are. All this fluff and dirt floating on the surface, yes they are there for the time being but will not be there forever. Please have faith in the fact that ultimately you are your own refuge, that you are a fully enlightened and balanced being without pain and grudges. Don’t ever forget this! This is the view.
Across ages, cultures, and traditions, there have been countless names used to designate this enlightened nature. «True self», «Nature of Mind», «Natural State», «Nature of Reality», «Authentic Being», «Divine Being», «God», «Divine Father», «Divine Mother», «Great Perfection», and so on, are just a few examples of names used.
It is important to understand that however lofty the impression these terms might give off, what they point to is not something external to us or transcendent, but our very own authentic selves. In other words, terms such as the Buddha, the Christ, or the Guru essentially refer to the very familiar sense of «me» inherent to all of us. This is the true nature of ourselves which does not change according to circumstances.
Baba says,
Recognize this basic wakefulness in you, this basic sense of me. Not the small me but the me that you have always been. That most familiar sense of who I am, and who you are, that you had throughout your life. The familiar sense of me that you had as a child, that you had as a youngster, that you had as a young adult, as an adult, middle-aged person, that you have now. The familiar sense of me.
If you inspect what that familiar sense of me is, you will discover that it has the three basic characteristics of the so-called natural state. There is clarity instead of blurriness or drowsiness. There is also softness - it is not hard or rigid or tense but very soft and loving - it has the energy of goodness. And finally, it is stable like a bedrock, completely and unshakably grounded.
Isn't it that this familiar sense of me has all three basic characteristics because it is, in technical terms, the Buddha nature that we are recognizing?
Two Perspectives: Absolute and Relative
The view that the basic reality of all beings is inherently enlightened is an expression of absolute truth or reality as it is. This view is the foundation of tantra (see below), and is expressed in the basic prayers of Open Heart when we chant the absolute refuge - «I am the Guru, I’m in the Pure Land, I am the Buddha, the Dharma, and Sangha.» - as well as in the prayer of absolute bodhicitta: «All beings are free».
From the absolute perspective, there is no enlightenment and nothing to attain as the very nature of phenomena – of happiness and sadness, of relaxation and tension, of enlightenment and confusion - is directly seen as always already perfect.
Linji Yixuan, founder of Linji Chan (Rinzai Zen) says,
According to this mountain monk‘s view, there is no Buddha, no sentient being, no past, no present. One who attains it, attains it instantly. No time is required, no practice, no realization, no gain, no loss.
Similarly, Lady Sahajayoginicinta says,
”Activities that are graceful, heroic, terrifying, compassionate, furious, arrogant, possessive and envious all without exception are perfect forms of pure, self-illuminated wisdom.”
Such pointers are not mere philosophical statements meant to be intellectually internalized or believed. Taken in such a manner, they unavoidably become hindrances to actual first-hand realization. It is an undeniable fact that most of us do not experience ourselves as inherently perfect, nor our thoughts, emotions, and actions as completely pure and kind. Therefore, in order to avoid bypassing the very real existential problems most of us face in everyday life, any authentic view needs to acknowledge and include the relative perspective of our conditioned and confused minds. It is from this perspective that we as spiritual seekers continuously take refuge in Guru, His Pure Land, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as our spiritual ideals, as well as express our primary motivation to become fully enlightened through chanting “May all beings be free”.
Only through experientially recognizing and investigating both modes of reality – the absolute and the relative view - putting them up against each other for contrast, and bringing the clear light of the former to illuminate the darkness of the latter, can we realize the view that is beyond any distinction, beyond absolute and relative, for ourselves.
Tantra: Bridging The Absolute and Relative
To the practitioner whose view is fully obscured by identification with mind objects, the enlightened nature and its qualities remain largely abstract ideas seemingly out of reach. The purpose of the tantric methodology is to act as a bridge between our conditioned mind of self-based confusion, and the selfless clarity of enlightenment.
Tantra approaches this task by giving the seemingly abstract enlightened qualities concrete forms. We can call these enlightened forms. The Five Jewels of Open Heart – Guru, Pure Land, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha – are all examples of such enlightened forms. So are the main tools used in tantric practice such as sacred syllables (Skt. mantra), the visualization of sacred imagery (Skt. yantra), and sacred physical gestures (Skt. mudra).
It is important to understand that these forms are not mere representations of enlightenment. They are not just “the finger pointing at the moon”. Rather they are direct expressions of our enlightened nature and thus act as direct doorways from the realm of existential ignorance to the realm of existential knowledge.
We can illustrate this by using the mantra as an example. The mantra can be understood on three levels; outer, inner, and secret. The outer mantra is the actual form; the words or syllables, sounds, and so on. Practicing the outer mantra correctly, through chanting, for example, can connect us with the inner mantra; the direct experience of the energetic charge of the mantra. In the case of compassion mantras, for example, the inner meaning of the mantra is the direct experience of compassion in our own body and mind. The correct recognition of the energetic charge of the mantra eventually leads us to recognition of the secret mantra; the enlightened nature of our very own minds. Going back to the example of the compassion mantra, the secret meaning of the mantra is the recognition that the compassion experienced is not external to us, but an inherent quality of our very own being. Seeing that these three levels are essentially one, the mantra is itself a direct expression of enlightened reality.
As such, tantra can be viewed as an inner realm where the nature of being is uncovered through the study of enlightened forms and ideals, directly relating to qualities inherent to our own nature. One reason why this approach is so effective is that it is based on a deeper understanding of human psychology, more specifically our tendency to perceive the world as a collection of personalities over abstract things. Having evolved in highly social contexts, our ability to detect personality traits and patterns has evolved to the point where everything we surround ourselves with is experienced as “personalities”; our cars, our houses, our computers, and so on. And as modern psychology points out, our experience of the world as consisting of numerous personalities is primary, and as a collection of objects secondary.
It is on this basis that the tantric yogi seeks to know compassion through befriending Avalokitesvara, the Lord of Compassion, or perfect clarity through connecting with Prajnaparamita, the Perfection of Wisdom. Similarly, in the practice of Guru Yoga we can come to know the enlightened state through cultivating relationships with living examples of perfectly realized beings. We can also make use of visualization of enlightened symbols such as the sacred Vajra. In short, the toolbox of tantra contains a number of tangible expressions of the absolute reality beyond form or formlessness.
Enlightened form: the Double Vajra of the Open Heart flag
Three Paths
Since we have three bodies, the Open Heart Teachings are divided into three paths:
The Path of Wisdom and Clarity (causal body),
The Path of Healing and Light (astral body), and
The Path of Health and Great Bliss (physical/astral body).
Although we speak of three bodies, this division is only a skillful means. In truth, the bodies function as a single, integrated whole. Yet each aspect of our being responds to different methods. By practicing the appropriate techniques for each body, the practitioner gradually opens the way to the highest spiritual attainment—the Lightbody—for the benefit of all sentient beings.
The Path of Wisdom and Clarity
This path focuses on deconstructing the mind’s selfing mechanism. Selfing is stored in the subtle causal body—within the chakras and nadis mapped out in the13 bhumi model,—so practitioners work with highly subtle energies that arise from the notion of “I” or “I-ness.” The primary technique of this path is vipashyana, which offers direct insight into our true, selfless nature and its inherent clarity.
Completion of this path means that the practitioner has fully cut through self-based energies and realized the innate emptiness (śūnyatā) of all mental phenomena. Our main practice sequence for this path is Rainbow Body Yoga. With Baba’s pointing-out instructions, transmissions, and Guru Yoga, the Path of Wisdom and Clarity becomes swift and deeply transformative.
The Path of Healing and Light
This path aims to heal and activate the subtle body of the meridians, the part of our psyche where traumas and emotional wounds are stored. It is important to understand that trauma cannot be healed through insight or analytical meditation (vipashyana) alone. Instead, these mental-emotional wounds must first be soothed through samatha meditation and then healed through cultivating basic safety and positivity.
Our main practice sequence for this path is Amrita Kriya Yoga. Baba has also revealed practices for mending the “broken human” with the help of Rainbow Body Masters. Because the meridians affect the functioning of the physical body, these healing practices balance the chi flow and improve overall well-being. As trauma patterns heal, negative and painful thoughts lose their source and cease to arise in the mind.
The Path of Health and Great Bliss
The third path strengthens and vitalizes the physical body while purifying samsaric traits from the cells, tissues, and meridians. The main practice sequences here are Amrita Asanas and Immortality Exercises, which include Bone Marrow Washing techniques originating from Bodhidharma.
By practicing all three paths, one can ultimately attain the highest spiritual realization: the Lightbody.