A FRIEND recently remarked to me how amazing it was that her baby, no matter how far or in what direction they might roll during the night, always seemed to maintain at least one point of contact with her mother’s body. This is something I am sure many parents can relate to, and it is a common experience of young lovers as well, eager to remain in contact, even in unconsciousness.
This thread of constant contact, the thread of continuity, is at the heart of tantra (Tibetan: gyu; meaning continuity). A common synonym for this continuity is “luminosity” (Sanskrit: prabhasvara; Tibetan: osel), also translated as “clear light” and “luminous clarity.” The concept of luminosity can be traced from the earliest Buddhist sources through its development in classical India, and into the later refinements of Buddhist tantric theory and practice in Tibet.
As part of the path of the Six Dharmas of Naropa, “clear light yoga” or “luminosity yoga” refers to the practice of recognizing the luminous emptiness of deep, dreamless sleep. Normally deep sleep is a state of complete blackout. But through practice, one is able to rest in the nonconceptual nature of mind in the midst of deep sleep. At this point, an experience of lucidity dawns like an endless cloudless sky, with no center or periphery. This is resting in the yoga of luminosity.
According to the tantric teachings, this luminosity is said to appear in several natural ways. As is stated in the Oral Teachings of Manjushri:
The minds of embodied beings are refined
When thoroughly familiar with experiences
That occur in mere moments of death, fainting, sleep,
Yawning, and sexual union.
These occasions happen to everyone, and this universality points to the underlying continuity of luminous clarity in the mind of every, the abiding nature of all things. The luminosity of the mother is in constant relationship with all of what occurs on the path, and, with recognition, can shine through at any moment. Such experiences on the path are called “child luminosity.” When the path matures to its fruition, and the ground is fully recognized, the result is called the “meeting of mother and child.” While this process happens in the fullest way at the time of death, the practices of the Six Dharmas develop familiarity with this during one’s life, particularly the “luminosity of sleep,” which Naropa called “the heart” of the Six Dharmas.
