LIn this teaching Rinpoche discusses a meditation practice focused on the sound of rain, suggesting two meditations: one on the conventional truth of the rain and the other on the emptiness of the rain.
Rinpoche advises to analyze how the sound of rain appears to one's mind, questioning whether the sound is merely labeled by the mind or if it appears to exist independently from its own side. The correct view, according to the Prasangika school, is that the sound is merely imputed by the mind on the base of the sense of the ear.
Next, meditate on the sound's hallucinatory nature and its emptiness, recognizing that the sound is not inherently existent and is merely imputed by the mind. The goal is to differentiate between the hallucinatory appearance of the sound and its ultimate nature, emptiness. Meditation on emptiness helps break the root of samsara, but it is crucial to start the practice with bodhicitta motivation to make one's life most beneficial for sentient beings.
Rinpoche discusses the importance of mindfulness and awareness in daily life, using the lamrim as an antidote to delusions and a means to practice awareness. Sound can be used as an object of meditation to cultivate wisdom and bodhicitta, leading to liberation and enlightenment for oneself and all sentient beings.
This teaching was given at Institut Vajra Yogini, France as part of a Four Kadampa Deities Retreat from April 18-May 11, 2003. You can see all the teachings from this retreat here:
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