Six powers
Six Powers (Tib. stobs drug)- The nine stages of resting the mind are accomplished through:
- Listening/study (Tib. thos pa) – ‘resting the mind’ is accomplished through listening to meditation instructions
- Reflection (Tib. bsam pa) – ‘resting the mind longer’ is accomplished through reflection and contemplation
- Mindfulness (Tib. dran pa) – through mindfulness one accomplishes ‘continuously resettling’ and ‘fully settling the mind’; whenever one is distracted one gathers the mind and slowly, through habituation, non-distraction occurs
- Awareness (Tib. shes bzhin) – through awareness one accomplishes ‘taming the mind’, ‘pacifying the mind’ and ‘completely pacifying the mind’; with joy for awareness and seeing the faults of succumbing to thoughts and negative emotions, one no longer falls prey to them
- Diligence (Tib. brtson ‘grus) – through diligence one accomplishes ‘complete pacification’ and ‘one-pointedness’; even subtle thoughts and negative emotions are abandoned
- Complete familiarity (Tib. yongs su ‘dris pa) – the final stage of ‘resting in equanimity’ where the mind is unaffected by the obstacles of dullness or agitation is accomplished through complete familiarity.