Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

practice of Mahamudra and Great Perfection, in which
open eyes are essential.
Again, there is a Thodgal practice of Mahamudra which
resembles the seven-day Great Perfection. It is, however,
to be practiced in the darkness of a hermitage. One
should put a black stone on the ground and visualize the
sunyata light coming from this and then lure it into the
body. Before this occurs, the eyes must be open, but
once it is inside then they should be closed.
For the seven-day practice, the eyes must also be closed.
We see from these examples that this question should be
decided according to the purport of the meditation.
In ordinary practice, if one's samatha is very good, then
the eyes may be opened. Even in sleep we notice that
some have their eyes open. This reminds me of a story:
During the time of the Three Dynasties in China, among
the three states one was called "Shu." At the head of the
army of Shu was a very learned marshal named "Chang
Fei." His brother died, and so in remembrance of him,
he wished in his next battle to wear a suit of white
armor. Only three days remained for the armor to be
made, and so the marshal instructed the blacksmith to
finish the work within this time or he would cut his head
off. The blacksmith was in great fear, wondering how to
make the armor so quickly, and fearing also the loss of
his head. Then he thought: "He is threatening to cut off
my head, why should I not cut off his first?" So he hired
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