In this approach, subtle patterns, emotions, and conceptual thoughts are not treated as enemies to be defeated, but as appearances to be clearly known. When a thought or emotion arises, it is simply recognized as such—anger, fear, desire, planning—without being followed, suppressed, or elaborated into a story. The emphasis is on direct recognition: seeing each event as a transient display, arising, briefly abiding, and dissolving. In this way, thoughts and emotions are related to as clouds in the sky of awareness, rather than as solid realities that define identity. Recognition is gentle and precise, and the mind is allowed to rest naturally without forcing a particular state.

Rather than analyzing the content of what appears, attention is turned to the bare experience itself. The narrative about “why” or “because” is set aside, and the raw energy of the experience is allowed to be felt directly, including its bodily dimension—its texture, intensity, and movement. This direct perception reveals that mental events are self-arising and self-liberating, lacking a solid core and unable to be held. They are seen as temporary clouds in a vast, open, and luminous awareness that remains unchanged regardless of what passes through it. In this way, the insubstantial, empty nature of thoughts and emotions becomes more evident.

A central aspect of the practice is to neither invite nor follow mental activity, but to rest in a relaxed, open awareness. One does not deliberately generate thoughts, nor is there an attempt to create a blank state; instead, whatever arises is allowed to appear and disappear on its own. The threefold instruction—do not follow, do not invite, rest naturally—captures this stance. Mental phenomena are permitted to unfold fully, without grasping or rejection, and their energy is recognized as a manifestation of awareness itself. Over time, this leads to an “equal taste,” in which clarity and confusion, pleasure and pain, are all known within the same spacious awareness.

When emotions are strong, they are allowed to arise completely, without resistance or indulgence in their stories. The focus remains on the immediate energy of the emotion, rather than on judgments of good or bad. If needed, grounding attention in the body and breath can help the mind remain steady enough to observe without being overwhelmed. Throughout, the sense of a solid “thinker” or “feeler” is gently examined, and the one who seems to own the experience is recognized as empty yet aware space. In this way, awareness itself is understood as the “Great Seal” that naturally encompasses and liberates whatever appears.