Introduction to DzogchenAlexander Berzin September 1995, revised May 2002 and July 2006

[For background, see: Introductory Comparison of the Five Tibetan Traditions of Buddhism and Bon .]

The Need for Dzogchen

Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen, the great completeness) is an advanced system of Mahayana practice that brings enlightenment. It is found primarily in the Nyingma and Bon traditions, but also appears as a supplementary practice in some of the Kagyu traditions such as Drugpa, Drigung, and Karma Kagyu. Let us speak here of dzogchen as formulated in the Nyingma school.

[See: Brief History of Dzogchen.]

To reach enlightenment, we need to remove forever two sets of obscurations:

emotional obscurations (nyon-sgrib) – those that are disturbing emotions and attitudes and which prevent liberation,

cognitive obscurations (shes-sgrib) -- those regarding all knowables and which prevent omniscience.

These obscurations bring us, respectively, the suffering of uncontrollably recurring existence (samsara) and the inability to be of best help to others. They are fleeting (glo-bur), however, and merely obscure the essential nature (ngo-bo) of the mind and limit its functioning. In essence, the mind (mental activity) is naturally pure of all fleeting stains. This is an important aspect of its Buddha-nature.

[See: Ridding Oneself of the Two Sets of Obscurations in Sutra and Anuttarayoga Tantra According to Nyingma and Sakya .]

In general, to remove both sets of obscuration requires bodhichitta (byang-sems) and nonconceptual cognition of voidness (stong-nyid, Skt. shunyata, emptiness) – the mind’s natural absence of fleeting stains and its absence of impossible ways of existing (such as inherently tainted with stains). Bodhichitta is a mind and heart aimed at enlightenment, with the intention to attain it and thereby to benefit all beings as much as is possible. Removing obscuration also requires a level of mind (or mental activity) most conducive for bringing about this removal. Dzogchen practice brings us to that level.

Sem and Rigpa

Mental activity occurs on two levels, with limited awareness (sems) and pure awareness (rig-pa). Since many Western students are already familiar with the Tibetan terms, let us use them for ease of discussion.

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Sem is mental activity limited by fleeting stains.

Rigpa is mental activity devoid of all fleeting stains of obscuration.

Sem may be conceptual or nonconceptual and, in either case, is always stained. Rigpa, on the other hand, is exclusively nonconceptual, in a purer manner than is nonconceptual sem, and is never stained by either of the two sets of obscurations.

Since mental activity, whether limited or pure, is naturally devoid of fleeting stains, rigpa is the natural state of sem. Thus, rigpa, with its essential nature of being devoid of all stains, can be recognized as the basis of each moment of our cognition.

Dzogchen, then, is a method of practice, grounded in bodhichitta and nonconceptual cognition of voidness, enabling us to recognize rigpa and stay forever at its level of mental activity free from all obscuration. In this way, rigpa’s “great completeness” (dzogchen) of all enlightening qualities for benefiting others becomes fully operational.

Equivalency in Non-Dzogchen Systems

The non-dzogchen systems of Gelug, Sakya, and Kagyu analyze three levels of mind or mental activity:

1. Gross mental activity is sensory cognition, which is always nonconceptual.2. Subtle mental activity includes both conceptual and nonconceptual mental

cognition.

3. The subtlest mental activity underlying them all is clear light ( ‘od-gsal), which is exclusively nonconceptual, but subtler than gross or subtle nonconceptual mental activity.

Sutra and the lower classes of tantra employ subtle mental activity for the cognition of voidness. Only anuttarayoga, the highest class of tantra, accesses and uses clear light mental activity for this purpose.

Parallel to this presentation, sutra and the lower classes of tantra in the Nyingma system employ sem for the cognition of voidness. Only dzogchen accesses and uses rigpa for this purpose.

The non-dzogchen systems explain that subtlest clear light mind manifests at the moment of death. A facsimile of it manifests for an instant when experiencing orgasm, falling asleep, fainting, sneezing, and yawning. At such times, the grosser energy-winds (rlung, Skt. prana, “lung”) that support gross and subtle mental activity temporarily cease (dissolve), thus temporarily stopping these two levels of mental activity and enabling the clear light level to function.

To gain stable control of clear light mental activity, however, requires accessing this level in meditation. We accomplish this with anuttarayoga complete stage practices (rdzogs-rim, completion stage) of working with the body’s subtle energy system to dissolve the energy-winds. As a cause for success on the complete stage, we imagine the

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dissolution process on the generation stage (bskyed-rim), modeled after the stages of death, bardo, and rebirth.

With the dzogchen methods, we recognize and access the subtlest mental activity – in this case, rigpa – without need to dissolve the energy-winds as the method for gaining access. But, how to recognize rigpa?

Definition of Mind

Mind, in Buddhism, refers to mental activity, not to a “thing” that is the agent of that activity or to a “tool” that a “me” uses to engage in that activity. The definition of mind describes the activity from two points of view. Thus, the two aspects of the description are simultaneous functions, not sequential:

1. the mental activity of producing or giving rise (‘ char-ba) to cognitive appearances (snang-ba),

2. the mental activity of cognitively engaging (‘ jug-pa) with cognitive appearances.

The former is usually translated as clarity (gsal) and the latter as awareness (rig).

Cognitive appearances do not refer to appearances of things “out there,” which we may or may not notice and cognize. They refer to how things appear “to the mind” when we cognize them. In a sense, they are like mental holograms. For example, in nonconceptual sensory cognition such as seeing, colored shapes appear, which are merely mental representations (snang-ba, mental semblances) or mental derivatives (gzugs-brnyan, mental reflections) of one moment of colored shapes. In conceptual cognition, a mental representation appears of the conventional object, such as a hand, that the colored shapes in that moment are the visual sensibilia of. A sequence of mental representations of a hand each second one inch further to the right appears as motion. In other words, cognitive appearances exist only within the context of mental activity. They do not need to be clear or in focus.

Moreover, cognitive appearances do not refer merely to the images that appear “in the mind” when cognizing visible objects with our eyes. They also refer to the cognitive appearances or arisings (shar-ba) of sounds, smells, tastes, physical sensations, thoughts, emotions, and so on. After all, it is mental activity that makes a sequence of consonant and vowel sounds arise as words and sentences.

Note that the expressions “things appear to the mind” or “in the mind” are merely manners of speaking particular to the English idiom and reflect a dualistic concept of mind totally different from the Buddhist model.

Cognitively engaging with cognitive appearances may be in any manner, such as seeing, hearing, thinking, or feeling them, and does not need to be conscious or with understanding. It may include ignoring something and being confused about it.

The definition also adds the word mere (tsam), which implies that mental activity occurs without a concrete agent “me” making it happen. It also implies that fleeting stains are not the defining characteristic of this activity. The superficial (kun-rdzob, conventional)

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nature of mental activity is merely producing and engaging with cognitive appearances; its deepest (don-dam, ultimate) nature is its voidness.

Further, mental activity is individual and subjective. My seeing of a picture and my feeling of happiness are not yours. Moreover, Buddhism does not assert a universal mind that we all are part of, that we all can access, or that our mental continuums (mind-streams) merge with when we achieve liberation or enlightenment. Even when enlightened, each Buddha’s mental continuum retains its individuality.

The Differences between Mahamudra and Dzogchen

Whether on the gross, subtle, or subtlest clear light level, the nature of mental activity remains the same. Mahamudra (phyag-chen, great seal) practice, found in the Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug/Kagyu traditions, focuses on this nature. The Kagyu and Gelug/Kagyu traditions have both sutra and anuttarayoga tantra levels of the practice, while Sakya only an anuttarayoga one. In other words, Sakya mahamudra focuses only on the nature of clear light mental activity, while the other two traditions include focus on the nature of the other levels of mental activity as well.

Rigpa shares the same nature as the three levels of mental activity analyzed by the non-dzogchen schools. Dzogchen practice, however, is exclusively done on the highest level of tantra and deals only with the subtlest level of mental activity. Moreover, dzogchen does not focus merely on the conventional and deepest natures of rigpa, but also on its various aspects and facets.

The Differences between Rigpa and Clear Light

Further, rigpa is not an exact equivalent of clear light. Rather, it is a subdivision of it.

Different Degrees of Being Unstained

The clear light level of mind is naturally devoid of grosser levels of mental activity, which are the levels at which conceptual cognition and the fleeting stains of disturbing emotions and attitudes occur. Before enlightenment, however, clear light mental activity is not devoid of the habits of grasping for true existence, which may be imputed or labeled on it. Nevertheless, when clear light is manifest, these habits do not cause clear light activity to make discordant (dual) appearances of true existence (gnyis-snang), nor do they prevent it from cognizing the two truths simultaneously (appearances and voidness), which they do when grosser levels of mind are active.

Rigpa, on the other hand, is devoid of even the habits of grasping for true existence. It is the totally unstained natural state of the mind.

Difference in Terms of Recognizability

Clear light mental activity and rigpa are similar in the sense that when each is operating, grosser levels of mental activity are not functioning simultaneously.

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To access and recognize clear light mind requires actively stopping the grosser levels of mental activity, through dissolving the energy-winds that support those levels.

Rigpa is recognizable without actively stopping the grosser levels of mental activity and of energy-wind as the method to recognize it. When recognized and accessed, however, the grosser levels automatically stop functioning.

Difference in Terms of Reflexive Deep Awareness

The non-dzogchen systems, particularly Gelug, differentiate object clear light (yul) from cognitive (yul-can, subject) clear light. Object clear light is the actual void nature (chos-nyid) of clear light, while cognitive clear light is clear light mental activity itself, a phenomenon that has object clear light as its nature (chos-can).

Clear light mental activity is not necessarily aware of its own void nature, for example the clear light mind experienced at the moment of ordinary death. Even when the fifteenth-century Gelug master Kaydrub Norzang-gyatso (mKhas-grub Nor-bzang rgya-mtsho) explains that clear light mental activity naturally gives rise to a cognitive appearance resembling that which arises in nonconceptual cognition of voidness, still it does not automatically arise with an understanding of voidness, also as in ordinary death. Moreover, even when reflexive deep awareness (rang-rig ye-shes) of its own void nature is presented as a natural quality of clear light, as in the Sakya and Kagyu systems, still it is not always operational, also as in ordinary death. Therefore, anuttarayoga practice aims at achieving, in meditation, cognitive clear light that is fully aware of its own object clear light nature.

Rigpa, on the other hand, is innately aware of its own void nature. When we access it, it automatically is fully aware of its own nature. In dzogchen terms, it knows its own face (rang-ngo shes-pa).

Effulgent and Essence Rigpa

On the path, we try to recognize two types of rigpa: first, effulgent rigpa (rtsal-gyi rig-pa) and then, essence rigpa (ngo-bo’i rig-pa) underlying it.

1. Effulgent rigpa is the aspect of rigpa actively giving rise to cognitive appearances.

2. Essence rigpa is the cognitive open space (klong) or cognitive sphere (dbyings) that underlies and allows for actively producing and actively cognizing cognitive appearances.

Both types of rigpa are still rigpa, meaning that both are mental activities: the naturally pure, unstained awareness of something.

The Relation of Cognitive Appearances and Rigpa

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Cognitive appearances are the play (rol-pa, display) of essence rigpa. When cognized with sem, they appear not to exist in this manner, and thus appearances are deceptive.

Here, appearances as the play of some type of mental activity does not mean:

that appearances arise due to the karma collected by the mind, or exist merely as what can be mentally labeled by the mind, as in the Gelug usage of the term play of the mind,

that all phenomena exist only in the mind, as in the extreme position of solipsism,

that the cognitive appearance of a table and the visual consciousness of it come from the same natal source (rdzas) – namely, the same karmic legacy (sa-bon, seed, karmic tendency) – despite the fact that the table is still made of atoms and has true unimputed existence (it is not merely an imagined table), as in the Chittamatra explanation.

Rather, it means that the cognitive appearance of the table is something that rigpa gives rise to as its functional nature (rang-bzhin). In other words, what rigpa naturally does is to spontaneously establish (lhun-grub) cognitive appearances and, in this sense, cognitive appearances are a play of the mind.

Unlike the Chittamatra formulation, however, according to dzogchen, the table itself has its own natal source – for example, the wood and atoms that comprise it. Moreover, the table lacks true unimputed existence (bden-par ma-grub-pa). It exists as a table inasmuch as it can be validly mentally labeled a table. Ultimately, however, its mode of existence is beyond words and concepts, as in the non-Gelug Madhyamaka explanation.

The dzogchen formulation of appearances as the play of the mind often employs Chittamatra terminology, such as alaya (kun-gzhi, basis for all) and eight types of consciousness. However, it does not explain them as existing in the same manner as the Chittamatra system does. The usage of this terminology derives from the fact that Shantarakshita and Kamalashila, the two earliest Indian masters of Buddhist logic to teach in Tibet, who provided the sutra philosophical basis for Nyingma, taught a form of Madhyamaka that uses Chittamatra terms. The Gelug tradition calls this form “the Yogachara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka school.”

[See: Brief History of Dzogchen. See also: Introductory Comparison of the Five Tibetan Traditions of Buddhism and Bon.]

Voidness Meditation

The void nature of rigpa is its essential nature (ngo-bo) and is called its primal purity (ka-dag).

Various Tibetan traditions of dzogchen, and masters within each tradition, have explained the primal purity of rigpa in terms of self-voidness (rang-stong), other-voidness (gzhan-stong), or both.

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Longchenpa (Klong-chen Rab-‘byams-pa Dri-med ‘od-zer), for example, made no reference to other-voidness.

There are two interpretations of the position of Mipam (‘Ju Mi-pham ‘Jam-dbyangs rnam-rgyal rgya-mtsho), made by two wings of his disciples. Botrul (Bod-sprul) and Kenpo Zhenga (mKhan-po gZhan-dga’) present Mipam as asserting self-voidness, while Zhechen Gyeltsab (Zhe-chen rGyal-tshab Pad-ma rnam-rgyal) and Katog Situ (Kah-thog Si-tu) present him as asserting other-voidness. The first group is mostly at Dzogchen Monastery (rDzogs-chen dGon-pa), while the second is mostly at Zhechen Monastery (Zhe-chen dGon-pa). There is no pervasion, however, that all masters at each of these monasteries share this interpretation and assert the corresponding view.

Moreover, they have given varying definitions of self and other-voidness. Let us stay with the most commonly accepted definitions in Nyingma.

Self-voidness is the absence of an impossible way of existing, such as true unimputed existence and, beyond that, existence that corresponds to what words and concepts imply.

Other-voidness is the absence from rigpa of all grosser levels of mental activity and tainted stains.

[See: Making Sense of Tantra: Part II, Chapter 7.]

Thus, the presentation of primal purity in terms of self-voidness is roughly equivalent to the non-dzogchen systems’ presentation of object clear light. The presentation in terms of other-voidness is roughly equivalent to that of cognitive clear light. Regardless of in which way it is presented and what terminology is used, primal purity is both self and other-void.

Meditation on the primal purity of rigpa, whether or not presented in terms of other-voidness, entails focus on rigpa as a cognitive state devoid of all grosser levels and of all fleeting stains. It is innately aware of its own primal purity.

Thus, voidness meditation in dzogchen does not entail analytical meditation on self-voidness. Neither does non-dzogchen object clear light meditation, for which we merely recall our understanding of self-voidness previously gained through analytical meditation.

Dzogchen meditation, however, does not entail any type of focus on the self-voidness of rigpa. Although analysis of self-voidness comprises part of the training required before attempting the practice of dzogchen, self-voidness is only understood at the time of rigpa meditation as part of the primal purity that rigpa is innately aware of. Further, when we focus on cognitive appearances being the natural play of rigpa, this implies that we have already understood their self-voidness. If cognitive appearances are the natural play of rigpa, they cannot exist in the manner that the words and concepts for the appearances imply. Words and concepts imply that things truly and independently exist in fixed concrete boxes as “this”s and “that”s, but this is an impossible mode of existence. There is no such thing.

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Rigpa Is Complete with All Good Qualities

Basis rigpa (gzhi’i rig-pa) is the working basis of pure awareness. It is unobstructed and all-permeating (zang-thal) in the sense that it permeates all sem without obstruction, like sesame oil permeates sesame seeds, despite the fact that we do not recognize it. Thus, rigpa is an aspect of Buddha-nature and, according to dzogchen, it is complete with all good qualities (yon-tan, Buddha-qualities), such as omniscience and all-encompassing compassion. Rigpa is analogous to the sun, and just as the sun cannot exist separately from the qualities of the sun, such as light and warmth, similarly rigpa does not exist separately from the Buddha-qualities.

Thus, when we access essence rigpa in meditation and it becomes operational, we do not have to add on top of it the Buddha-qualities. We do not need to actualize on top of it a mind of omniscient awareness or of all-encompassing compassion. It is naturally and spontaneously (lhun-grub) there.

Comparison with the Gelug, Sakya, and Samkhya Positions

The Gelug and Sakya explanations of Buddha-nature assert that the Buddha-qualities exist now merely as potentials (nus-pa) of clear light mental activity. They are like seeds, which are different from the soil in which they are found. We need to cultivate them so that they grow.

Although the non-Buddhist Samkhya school of Indian philosophy does not assert Buddha-nature or Buddha-qualities, a Samkhya-style presentation of this point would be that omniscience is ultimately findable already functioning in clear light mental activity. It is merely not manifest presently.

The dzogchen position is neither of these. We cannot say that rigpa in its present obscured state is operating as an omniscient awareness. Presently, rigpa is obscured by fleeting stains and flowing together with an automatically arising (lhan-skyes) factor of dumbfoundedness (rmongs-cha, stupidity, bedazzlement). Because of dumbfoundedness, rigpa does not recognize its own face and, consequently, it is not operational. It functions instead as an alaya for habits (bag-chags-kyi kun-gzhi) – foundational awareness for the habits of grasping for true existence, for karma, and for memories.

Therefore, dzogchen emphasizes the importance of preliminary practices (sngon-‘gro, “ngondro”) and of strengthening the two enlightenment-building networks of positive force and deep awareness (collections of merit and insight) as strongly as the Gelug, Sakya, and non-dzogchen Kagyu traditions emphasize them. The purpose, however, is not for building up good qualities or for actualizing potentials for these qualities, but for eliminating obscurations that prevent rigpa from recognizing its own face. The “face” of rigpa is characterized as Samantabhadra (Kun-tu bzang-po): literally, all-excellent. Such recognition will not happen all by itself, without any causes.

The Meaning of Rigpa Being Permanent

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When the dzogchen texts assert that rigpa is an unaffected (‘ dus-ma-byed, unconditioned, uncollected) permanent (rtag-pa) phenomenon, we must understand the meaning carefully. Unaffected, here, means that it is not created anew each moment and does not organically grow from something, as a sprout does from a seed. Thus, it is uncontrived (bcos-med) – not made up or fabricated, under the influence of causes and conditions, as something temporary and new. Moreover, its having good qualities does not depend on causes and conditions. It is permanent, not in the sense of being static and not performing a function, but rather in the sense of lasting forever, as do its qualities.

In each moment, however, rigpa spontaneously gives rise to and is aware of different objects. In this sense, it is fresh and clean (so-ma). Although its nature never changes, these aspects change. Focusing on this feature, Gelug would assert that rigpa is nonstatic (mi-rtag-pa, impermanent). There is no contradiction, however, because dzogchen and Gelug are defining and using the terms permanent and impermanent differently.

[See: Static and Nonstatic Phenomena.]

Those Who Progress in Stages and Those for Whom It Happens All at Once

There are two types of dzogchen practitioners: those who progress in stages (lam-rim-pa) and those for whom it happens all at once (cig-car-ba). This differentiation regards the manner of proceeding to enlightenment for practitioners once they have realized essence rigpa. In other words, it regards those who have become aryas (‘ phags-pa, highly realized beings) with the attainment of a seeing pathway mind (mthong-lam, path of seeing) and the true stopping of the emotional obscurations.

Those who progress in stages proceed through the arya bodhisattva ten bhumi levels of minds (sa, Skt. bhumi), one by one, gradually removing the cognitive obscurations.

Those for whom it happens all at once achieve a true stopping of both sets of obscuration all at once with the first realization of essence rigpa. Thus, they become aryas and Buddhas simultaneously.

[See: Ridding Oneself of the Two Sets of Obscurations in Sutra and Anuttarayoga According to Nyingma and Sakya.]

Although dzogchen texts usually speak more of the second variety, only a tiny fraction of practitioners is of this type. Their elimination of both sets of obscuration with the first realization of essence rigpa is due to the enormous amount of positive force (merit) they have built up with bodhichitta and dzogchen practice in previous lives. That positive force may also enable them to proceed through the stages before achieving a seeing pathway mind more quickly than most. Nevertheless, no one asserts the attainment of enlightenment without the buildup of vast networks of positive force and deep awareness, from intense practice of preliminaries, meditation, and bodhisattva conduct – even if the majority of this has occurred in previous lifetimes.

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Therefore, when dzogchen texts refer to the recognition of rigpa as the one that cuts off all for complete liberation (chig-chod kun-grol, the panacea for complete liberation), we need to understand this correctly. For those for whom it happens all at once, the first realization of essence rigpa is sufficient for cutting all obscurations for the complete attainment of enlightenment. This does not mean, however, that realization of rigpa is sufficient by itself for attaining enlightenment, without need for any preliminaries, such as bodhichitta or strengthening the two enlightenment-building networks, as the causes for achieving that realization.

Contrast with Gradual and Sudden Enlightenment as Asserted in Chinese Buddhism

Several traditions of Chinese Buddhism differentiate between gradual and sudden enlightenment. The two do not correspond to the dzogchen distinction between the manner of practice for those who progress in stages and those for whom it happens all at once.

Gradual enlightenment (tsen-min) entails working, in graded steps, with samsaric mental activity to gain liberation from samsara.

Sudden enlightenment (ston-mun) derives from the view that it is impossible to gain liberation from samsara by using samsaric mental activity. We need to make a total break from that level and break out “all of a sudden.”

Various schools of Chan in China (Jap. Zen) assert sudden enlightenment. The methods for suddenly breaking out of samsaric mental activity include working with paradox (Jap. koan) to stop all conceptual thought, just sitting (Jap. zazen), or simply stopping all thought. Dzogchen does not employ any of these methods.

Dzogchen Explains from the Point of View of the Result

According to the early twentieth-century Rimey (nonsectarian) master Jamyang-kyentzey-wangpo (‘ Jam-dbyangs mkhyen-brtse dbang-po), the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism may be differentiated according to the point of view from which they explain: basis, path, or result.

1. The Gelug tradition explains from the point of view of the basis – in other words, from the viewpoint of ordinary practitioners. For example, such persons are capable of perceiving appearances or voidness only separately, although the two are inseparable. Therefore, Gelug explains appearances and voidness as the two truths and thus deepest truth is self-voidness alone. Consequently, Gelug presents the svabhavakaya (ngo-bo-nyid sku, body of self-nature) of a Buddha as the voidness of a Buddha’s omniscient awareness.

2. The Sakya tradition explains from the viewpoint of the path. Although clear light mental activity on the basis level, for example at the moment of death, cannot be said to be blissful; nevertheless, it is made blissful on the anuttarayoga

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tantra path. Speaking from that point of view, Sakya asserts clear light awareness as naturally blissful.

3. Nyingma and Kagyu traditions explain from the resultant point of view of a Buddha. For example, Buddhas nonconceptually cognize appearances and voidness simultaneously. Therefore, Nyingma and Kagyu – and thus dzogchen – explain deepest truth as inseparable voidness and appearance and, consequently, they present svabhavakaya as the inseparability of the other three Buddha-bodies.

Thus, when dzogchen texts speak in terms of the natural state beyond karma, beyond the categories of constructive and destructive, they are speaking from the resultant viewpoint of a Buddha. This presentation does not give free license to practitioners on earlier levels, who are still under the influence of disturbing emotions and attitudes, to commit destructive acts. Such persons still build up karma and still experience its suffering results.

Break-Through and Skip-Ahead

The dzogchen literature includes much discussion of the stages of practice called break-through (khregs-chod, “tekcho”) and skip-ahead (thod-rgal, “togel”). These are extremely advanced practices, equivalent to the final stages of the complete stage of anuttarayoga tantra.

On the break-through stage, once we have been led to recognize rigpa by our dzogchen masters, we are able to access essence rigpa and thus stop all sem, as the subtle energy-winds automatically dissolve. In other words, we are able to stop all grosser levels of mental activity – the levels at which the fleeting stains of disturbing emotions and attitudes and conceptual cognition occur. With this, we attain a seeing pathway mind and become an arya. Unless we are practitioners for whom it happens all at once, we are not yet able to remain forever at the level of essence rigpa. After meditation, we revert to sem.

On the skip-ahead stage, we gain increasing familiarity with essence rigpa. Moments of sem are the immediately preceding condition (de-ma-thag rkyen) for our experience being comprised of the five aggregate factors (phung-po, Skt. skandha). The more frequently and the longer we are able to remain with essence rigpa, the more we weaken the force of an immediately preceding condition for experiencing five aggregates.

[See: The Basic Scheme of the Five Aggregate Factors of Experience .]

Without a strong immediately preceding condition, our five aggregates fade, including our ordinary bodies, and we arise in the form of a rainbow body (‘ ja’-lus). This occurs because among the natural qualities of rigpa is that it spontaneously establishes the appearance of five-colored rainbow light.

The rainbow body is the obtaining cause (nyer-len rgyu) which transforms into the rupakaya (gzugs-sku, form bodies) of a Buddha. The equivalent cause for a rupakaya in general anuttarayoga tantra (excluding Kalachakra) is either an illusory body (sgyu-lus) in father tantra or a light body (‘ od-lus) in mother tantra. The equivalent in Kalachakra

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is a devoid form (stong-gzugs). Although dzogchen sometimes uses the terms light body and devoid form for rainbow body, and general anuttarayoga sometimes uses rainbow body for light body, the types of bodies achieved and the methods for achieving them in general anuttarayoga, Kalachakra, and dzogchen remain distinct.

The Necessity of Mahayoga and Anuyoga Practice before Dzogchen

It is impossible to attain the break-through and skip-ahead stages without prior practice of mahayoga and anuyoga – if not in this lifetime, then in previous ones. For this reason, atiyoga, a synonym for dzogchen, usually appears in the form of maha-atiyoga, meaning a union of mahayoga and dzogchen.

Mahayoga

Mahayoga practice emphasizes the equivalent of the anuttarayoga generation stage, in which we work with the imagination – in other words, conceptually. Although rigpa is beyond words and concepts, nevertheless we rely on an idea of rigpa that we use as a facsimile to represent rigpa in meditation before we are actually able to access it.

We visualize ourselves as a Buddha-figure (yidam, deity), such as Vajrasattva. This acts as a cause for the five-colored rainbow light that is a natural quality of rigpa to appear in the form of a rainbow body Vajrasattva and, ultimately, as the network of enlightening forms or rupakaya of a Buddha. Although the nature of rigpa is spontaneously to establish appearances with five-colored rainbow light; nevertheless, without a previous cause as a model, it is not likely to establish the appearance of a rupakaya.

Moreover, we visualize ourselves as a couple in union, experiencing simultaneously arising greatly blissful awareness (lhan-skyes bde-ba chen-po) – blissful awareness arising simultaneously with each moment of rigpa. This acts as a cause for eliminating the obscurations that prevent the spontaneous establishment of rigpa’s natural quality of bliss.

Anuyoga

Anuyoga practice emphasizes the equivalent of the stages of general anuttarayoga tantra complete stage practice prior to the attainment of actual clear light awareness and a seeing pathway mind. Thus, it entails working with the subtle energy-system with its energy-winds, energy-channels, and energy-drops (rtsa-rlung-thig-le). Such practice, in a sense, “greases” the subtle energy-system so that the energy-winds will more easily dissolve automatically at the break-through stage.

[For more detail, see: The Major Facets of Dzogchen.]

Basic Procedure of Dzogchen Meditation

Moments of conceptual thinking (rnam-rtog), specifically moments of verbal thinking, simultaneously arise, abide, and disappear, as does writing on water. No effort is

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required to dissolve them, which is the meaning of the term automatic liberation (rang-grol, self-liberation). Thoughts automatically free themselves, in the sense of disappearing simultaneously with arising. When we abide in this state of simultaneous arising, abiding, and disappearing, we abide in the “natural state of the mind.” It is sometimes described as the space in between milliseconds of thought or as the open space underlying thoughts.

When the texts describe that this level of mental activity does not make distinctions into “this”s and “that”s, they mean that it does not make distinctions into truly existent “this”s and “that”s. They do not mean that this level of mental activity lacks distinguishing (‘ du-shes, recognition) of what anything is. It merely lacks the conceptual cognition that actively labels something with a mental construct, such as “table.” It cannot be that rigpa knows nothing. After all, when fully operational, rigpa is the omniscient awareness of a Buddha.

The dzogchen presentation here does not contradict the Gelug-Prasangika assertion that things conventionally exist as “this”s or “that”s merely inasmuch as they can be validly labeled as “this”s or “that”s. Nothing exists inherently in something, making it a “this” or a “that” by its own power. Nevertheless, an object can be correctly labeled as “a table” by a valid cognition of its superficial (conventional) truth and this object has the ability to perform the function (don-byed nus-pa) of a table.

[See: The Validity and Accuracy of Cognition of the Two Truths in Gelug-Prasangika. See also: Fundamentals of Dzogchen Meditation, 1 Recognizing Different Levels of Mental Activity and Appearance-Making .]

Differences between the Dzogchen, Vipassana, and Mahamudra Meditation Methods concerning Conceptual Thought

Vipassana

Vipassana (lhag-mthong, Skt. vipashyana) meditation within the sphere of Theravada Buddhism entails noting and watching the arising and falling of moments of conceptual thinking, but not through the “eyes” of an independently existing “me” as the observer. Through this procedure, we realize the impermanence or fleeting nature of conceptual thought and of mental activity in general. We also realize that mental activity occurs without an independent agent “me” either observing it or making it happen.

Dzogchen meditation, in contrast, focuses on the simultaneous arising, abiding, and disappearing of moments of conceptual thinking – not simply noting or watching it. This allows us to recognize first effulgent rigpa – the aspect of rigpa that spontaneously establishes the appearance of simultaneously arising, abiding, and disappearing thoughts. It then allows us to recognize essence rigpa – the aspect of rigpa that serves as the cognitive space underlying every moment of mental activity and allowing for the spontaneous establishment of simultaneously arising, abiding, and disappearing thoughts.

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Moreover, vipassana deals only with the grosser levels of mental activity, whereas dzogchen accesses the subtlest level, rigpa.

Mahamudra

One of the main methods of mahamudra meditation in the Karma Kagyu tradition is to regard moments of conceptual thinking as dharmakaya (chos-sku) – the network of omniscient awareness of a Buddha encompassing everything. If dharmakaya is likened to the ocean, then moments of conceptual thinking are like waves on the ocean. Whether the ocean is calm or churning with waves, still the waves are water. Thus, without consciously seeking to quiet the waves, we focus on the ocean, which is never disturbed in its depths, no matter how large the waves on the surface may be. Consequently, the conceptual process naturally quiets down.

In the Gelug/Kagyu tradition of mahamudra, we regard moments of conceptual thinking to be like fleeting clouds that temporarily obscure the sky. They arise and disappear in the sky, but are not in the nature of the sky.

Both mahamudra and dzogchen deal with the subtlest level of mental activity, mahamudra accesses it by dissolving the energy-winds and the grosser levels of mental activity, whereas dzogchen accesses it by recognizing it within the grosser levels, namely sem.

Contrast between Dzogchen and Chan (Zen)

Chan (Jap. zen) is exclusively a sutra practice, whereas dzogchen is exclusively tantra and, specifically, the highest class of tantra. Thus, dzogchen works with the subtlest level of mental activity, whereas Chan works with grosser levels.

Although Chan does not explicitly teach that all good qualities are complete in the mind, nevertheless it implicitly implies this point, particularly concerning compassion. Chan has only minimal emphasis on cultivating compassion as a method to eliminate the obscurations that prevent innate compassion from shining forth. When we reach the natural state, compassion will automatically be part of that state. Dzogchen, on the other hand, not only explicitly teaches that all qualities, not only compassion, are complete in rigpa, but entails extensive sutra and tantra meditation practice for cultivating compassion.

Chan practice does not require beforehand the common and uncommon preliminaries of sutra study and meditation and of a hundred thousand repetitions of various practices, whereas dzogchen practice requires both sets of preliminaries.

Chan practice does not require receiving an empowerment (initiation) beforehand, whereas dzogchen practice does.

Although enlightenment requires the subtlest level of mental activity, Chan neither explains this level nor presents explicit methods for reaching it. Moreover, it does not discuss the subtle energy-system. Nevertheless, focus on

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the area below the navel (Jap. hara) in various Chan practices undoubtedly causes the energy-winds to enter and dissolve in the central channel, which brings access to this subtlest level. Dzogchen accesses rigpa through being led to recognize it by our spiritual masters, after we have “greased” the subtle energy-system with prior anuyoga practice.

The Chan method, specifically in the Rinzai tradition, for stopping the conceptual process is “profound doubt” – doubting all conceptual statements – and koan practice, often entailing paradox. Dzogchen stops the conceptual process through focusing on the simultaneous arising and disappearing of thoughts.

In Chan, the cause for actualizing a rupakaya, especially in the Soto tradition, is sitting in the perfect posture of a Buddha. In dzogchen, the causes are rigpa’s nature of spontaneously establishing appearances, rigpa’s innate feature of shining with five-colored rainbow light, and prior mahayoga practice of visualizing ourselves as Buddha-figures. Chan does not have any discussion or presentation of Buddha-figures.

Concluding Remarks

Dzogchen is an extremely advanced and difficult practice. When described as effortless (‘ bad-med), this does not mean that as beginners, we do not need to do anything – just sit, relax, and everything will happen all at once. Effortless refers to the fact that thoughts automatically disappear simultaneously with their arising: we do not need to make an effort to make them disappear. Nevertheless, we need to recognize and realize this fact. Effortless also refers to when we realize essence rigpa, then, based on prior mahayoga and anuyoga practice, the energy-winds effortlessly dissolve and an appearance of ourselves as a rainbow body in the aspect of a Buddha-figure effortlessly arises.

Thus, although the dzogchen literature primarily speaks from the points of view of the resultant stage and of those for whom it happens all at once, we need to gather the causes for success before we are able to practice dzogchen successfully. In other words, we cannot dispense with practicing the common and uncommon preliminaries, receiving empowerment, keeping the appropriate vows, and practicing a certain amount of mahayoga and anuyoga meditation.

Now, however, we may practice a facsimile of dzogchen meditation to familiarize ourselves with the method. Focusing on the simultaneous arising, abiding, and disappearing of thoughts, on whatever level we can, is helpful for overcoming anxiety, worry, anger, and so on. However, we need to try to avoid fooling ourselves into thinking that this is the actual, deeper level of dzogchen meditation. We need to try to avoid the mistake of thinking that everything is already perfect and so there is no need to change destructive patterns in our attitudes or behavior.

Similar Pages:

The Major Facets of Dzogchen

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Fundamentals of Dzogchen Meditation (multipart text) Brief History of Dzogchen

The Major Facets of DzogchenAlexander Berzin

November 2000, revised May 2002 and July 2006

[For background, see: Introduction to Dzogchen .]

The Nyingma tradition is a complex of many lineages and teachings, including dzogchen. Let us examine some of its major facets.

Nine Vehicles

The Nyingma (Old Translation Period) tradition divides Buddha’s teachings into nine vehicles (theg-pa dgu): three sutra and six tantra. This contrasts with the Sarma (New Translation Period) schools of Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug, which divide the teachings into three sutra and four tantra vehicles.

The three sutra vehicles are the shravaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva vehicles. The first two are in the category of Hinayana, while the latter is Mahayana.

The three outer tantras are kriya, charya, and yoga.

The three inner tantras are mahayoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga or dzogchen.

[See: The Terms Hinayana and Mahayana . See also: Basic Features of Tantra.]

The first six vehicles in Nyingma and Sarma are the same. The three Nyingma inner tantra vehicles are roughly equivalent to the Sarma category of anuttarayoga tantra. This is because both categories deal with a subtler level of mental activity (mind) than the lower vehicles do for actualizing the third and fourth noble truths – true stoppings of the first and second noble truths (suffering and its causes) and the true pathways of mind that bring about and have true stoppings. True causes are confusion about reality (unawareness, ignorance) and the fleeting levels of mental activity at which they operate. Because they are fleeting levels, they can be removed.

Maha, Anu, and Atiyoga in Comparison with Father, Mother, and Nondual Anuttarayoga Tantra

Mahayoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga all contain the same basic elements of practice on the tantra path to enlightenment. They differ in terms of emphasis. The same distinction is true concerning the three divisions of anuttarayoga tantra: father, mother, and nondual tantra. The two division schemes, however, are not equivalent.

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The practice of anuttarayoga tantra entails the generation stage (bskyed-rim) and the complete stage (rdzogs-rim, completion stage). On the generation stage, we generate ourselves as Buddha-figures merely with the power of our imaginations (visualization). On the complete stage, everything is complete for actually generating the immediate causes for the body and mind of a Buddha – not just in our imaginations.

On the complete stage, we cause the energy-winds (rlung, Skt. prana) to enter, abide, and dissolve in the central channel. This enables us to access the subtlest level of mental activity (clear light, ‘ od-gsal) and use it for the nonconceptual cognition of voidness – the immediate cause for the omniscient mind of a Buddha. We use the subtlest level of energy-wind, which supports clear light mental activity, to arise in the form of an illusory body (sgyu-lus) as the immediate cause for the network of form bodies (Skt. rupakaya) of a Buddha.

Within this scheme of anuttarayoga tantra:

father tantra emphasizes illusory body practice, mother tantra emphasizes clear light practice,

nondual tantra emphasizes the unified pair (zung-’jug) of illusory body and clear light.

If we use the same scheme as in anuttarayoga to analyze the Nyingma presentation, and divide the complete stage into two phases – before attaining actual clear light nonconceptual cognition of voidness, and after, when we attain the immediate cause for a rupakaya – then:

mahayoga emphasizes the generation stage, anuyoga emphasizes the first phase of the complete stage and working with the

energy-winds, channels, and chakras,

atiyoga (dzogchen) emphasizes the second phase of the complete stage, at which we actualize the immediate causes for the enlightening mind and form bodies of a Buddha.

Three Lines of Transmission Divided According to Their Sources

There are three main lines of transmission of the nine vehicles. The first encompasses all nine vehicles, while the latter two include some mahayoga and anuyoga texts, but primarily dzogchen.

Distant Lineage of the Words of Buddha Himself

The extensive distant lineage (ring-brgyud) of the words of Buddha himself (bka’-ma) comprises the teachings brought to Tibet from India by Indian and Tibetan masters and transmitted directly through an unbroken line of disciples.

The Near Lineage of Treasure Texts

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The shorter near lineage (nye-brgyud) of treasure texts (gter-ma, “terma”) comprises texts planted either in a physical location (sa-gter), such as inside a pillar of a temple, or in the minds of disciples (dgongs-gter). The early Indian and Tibetan masters who brought the teachings from India hid them there for safekeeping during times that were not conducive for their practice. Centuries later, revealers of treasure texts (gter-ston, “terton”) recovered and then transmitted them to unbroken lines of disciples.

Burying treasure texts is not unique to Tibet or, within Tibet, to the Nyingma tradition. In India, Asanga buried three texts of Maitreya, including The Furthest Everlasting Continuum (rGyud bla-ma, Skt. Uttaratantra) and the Indian master Maitripa recovered them. Within the Kagyu traditions, Milarepa’s (Mi-la Ras-pa) disciple Rechungpa (Ras-chung-pa) buried mahamudra texts and the Drugpa Kagyu founder, Tsangpa Gyarey (gTsang-pa rGya-ras), recovered them.

A variant of this manner of transmission is Buddha entrusting The Prajnaparamita Sutras to the nagas (klu, half-human, half-serpent guardians of treasure), who hid them under the sea. The Indian master Nagarjuna went to the naga-realm beneath the sea and recovered them many centuries later.

The Profound Lineage of Pure Visions

The profound lineage (zab-brgyud) of pure visions (dag-snang, revelation) comprises teachings by Buddha-figures or lineage founders received in visions.

An Indian precedent is again with Asanga, who was taken to Tushita pure land by Maitreya Buddha and received a pure vision there of Maitreya’s five texts.

Three Divisions of Treasure Texts

The treasure texts concerning dzogchen fall into three divisions:

The mind division (sems-sde) emphasizes pure awareness (rig-pa) as the basis for all (kun-gzhi, Skt. alaya).

The open space division (klong-sde) emphasizes the open space aspect (klong) of pure awareness as the basis for all.

The quintessence teachings division (man-ngag sde) emphasizes pure awareness being primally pure (ka-dag). Another name for this division is the heart essence division (snying-thig). Various texts bearing the term nyingtig in their titles belong to this division.

The first two divisions derive from treasure texts buried by Vairochana, one of the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monks. The mind division comes from Indian texts that Vairochana translated; the open space division from his oral teachings. The quintessence teachings division derives from texts buried by either Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) or the Indian master Vimalamitra. Only the third is widely practiced in modern times.

[See: Brief History of Dzogchen.]

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Three Kinds of Pure Visions

The three higher tantra class teachings that derive from pure visions also fall into three categories:

those that arise from meditative experiences, those that arise in dreams,

those that arise directly to sensory consciousness – actually seeing and hearing a Buddha-figure while awake, not while dreaming or in meditation.

The third kind constitutes the most profound lineage. An Indian precedent is Asanga, who received Maitreya’s five texts by actually seeing them in Tushita pure land.

Three Lines of Transmission Divided According to the Manner of Receiving Them

The Nyingma system presents an additional division scheme for the lines of transmission of the three inner tantra classes, divided according to the manner in which the masters who founded a line of transmission received the teachings:

The transmission line of the Triumphant Buddha’s intention (rgyal-ba dgongs-brgyud) is received by a master when he or she achieves enlightenment and directly realizes the full intention of Buddha’s teachings.

The transmission line of gestures from a beholder of pure awareness (rig-’dzin brda-brgyud) is received by a master in a pure vision of an emanation of a Buddha, when he or she gains realization through seeing a gesture made by the emanation.

The transmission line of teachings heard from a person (gang-zag snyan-brgyud) is received orally from the teachings of a great master. Most derive from the teachings heard directly from either Guru Rinpoche or Vimalamitra.

Rigpa

Dzogchen practice emphasizes accessing rigpa (rig-pa, pure awareness), the subtlest level of mental activity. Rigpa is an unaffected phenomenon (‘ dus-ma-byed), not in the sense of being static, but in the sense of not being contrived or made up as something temporary and new. It is primordially present, continuous, and everlasting. It is unstained by fleeting ordinary mental activity – in other words, rigpa is devoid of them.

Rigpa is complete with all the good qualities (yon-tan) of a Buddha, such as understanding and compassion. They are innate (lhan-skyes) to rigpa, which means that they arise simultaneously with each moment of rigpa, and primordial (gnyugs-ma), in the sense of having no beginning.

We do not need to create good qualities anew from nothing or just from potentials. Like the innate quality of a mirror to reflect, which is there even when dust totally obscures

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the surface of the mirror, we do not need to add anything for rigpa’s good qualities to function. We need merely to remove the fleeting stains, the dust. Before enlightenment, however, even when rigpa is manifest, its good qualities are not all equally prominent simultaneously.

Among the innate qualities of rigpa is self-arising deep awareness (rang-byung ye-shes), also known as reflexive deep awareness (rang-rig ye-shes). This is awareness of rigpa’s own face (rang-ngo shes-pa) as the face of Samantabhadra (Kun-tu bzang-po, the Totally Excellent One endowed with all good qualities). When reflexive deep awareness is not manifest, due to the automatically arising factor of dumbfoundedness (rmongs-cha, stupidity, bedazzlement) that obscures rigpa’s knowing of its own nature, mental activity becomes sem (sems, limited awareness) and no longer rigpa.

The fleeting factor of dumbfoundedness is another name for automatically arising unawareness (lhan-skyes ma-rig-pa) regarding phenomena. It is not an actual disturbing attitude, but only a nominal one (nyon-mongs-kyi ming-btags-pa), since it falls in the category of obscurations regarding all knowables, and which prevent omniscience (shes-sgrib).

Moreover, unawareness (ignorance), here,

is not in the sense of inverted cognition and grasping of the cognitive appearance of things (phyin-ci-log-par ‘dzin-pa) – perceiving them to exist in a manner that does not correspond to their actuality and grasping for them to truly exist in that manner.

Nor is it unawareness in the sense of not knowing (mi-shes-pa) that dualistic appearances are false.

Rather, it is unawareness in the sense of not knowing its own nature. It does not “recognize its own face.”

[See: Ridding Oneself of the Two Sets of Obscurations in Sutra and Anuttarayoga Tantra According to Nyingma and Sakya.]

Three Aspects of Rigpa

Rigpa’s reflexive deep awareness is awareness of its threefold nature (“ its own face”). This refers to the three aspects of rigpa: its essential nature (ngo-bo, essence), its influencing nature (‘ phrin-las, activity), and its functional nature (rang-bzhin, self-nature).

The essential nature of rigpa refers to the category of phenomenon it is. In essence, rigpa is primal purity (ka-dag). This means rigpa is primally (without a beginning) pure of all stains. This is both in the sense of being self-void (rang-stong, devoid of impossible ways of existing) and other-void (gzhan-stong, an awareness having that void nature and which is devoid of fleeting grosser levels). Thus, primal purity derives from a union of the teachings of the second and third rounds of transmission (turnings of wheel of Dharma), on self-voidness and Buddha-nature, respectively.

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The influencing nature of rigpa refers to the manner in which rigpa influences others. This manner is with its aspect of responsiveness (thugs-rje, compassion). In other words, the nature of rigpa’s influencing others is that it responds effortlessly and spontaneously with compassionate communication.

The functional nature of rigpa refers to what it specifically does. Rigpa effortlessly and spontaneously establishes appearances (lhun-grub).

The Two Truths in Nyingma

Nyingma presents the two truths (bden-gnyis) in several ways. In the broadest sense:

Rigpa, with its pure appearance-making, is deepest truth (don-dam bden-pa, ultimate truth).

Sem, with its impure appearance-making, is superficial or conventional truth (kun-rdzob-bden-pa, relative truth).

Impure appearance-making (ma-dag-pa’i snang-ba) gives rise to appearances of things as having true existence, lacking true existence, both, or neither. Pure appearance-making (dag-pa’i snang-ba) gives rise to appearances of things as existing beyond these four extremes.

Within the context of rigpa:

The aspect of primal purity – as rigpa’s void side (stong-cha) and awareness side (rig-cha) – is rigpa’s deepest truth.

The aspect of spontaneously establishing appearances based on the aspect of responsiveness – as rigpa’s appearance side (snang-cha) and appearance-making side (gsal-cha) – is its superficial, relative truth.

Thus, rigpa’s three aspects, as its two truths, are always inseparable (dbyer-med) and simultaneously arising (lhan-skyes).

[See: Conventional and Deepest Bodhichitta and the Two Truths in Anuttarayoga Tantra. See also: Relationships between Two Objects in Anuttarayoga Tantra.]

The Basis and Resultant Phases of the Three Aspects of Rigpa

The basis phase of the three aspects of rigpa refers to the three as aspects of Buddha-nature in all limited beings (sems-can, sentient beings).

The resultant phase of the three aspects refers to their manifestation in the fully realized Buddha-nature of a Buddha. In this phase:

Rigpa’s essential nature manifests as Dharmakaya (chos-sku, a corpus that encompasses everything – the omniscient awareness of a Buddha and the inseparability of its two truths).

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Rigpa’s influencing nature manifests as Sambhogakaya (longs-sku, a corpus of the subtle forms of speech and communication that make full use of the Mahayana teachings).

Rigpa’s functional nature manifests as Nirmanakaya (sprul-sku, a corpus of emanations of Sambhogakaya in the appearance of physical bodies).

The Pathway Phase of the Three Aspects

To remove the fleeting stains from the basis three aspects of rigpa so that their full functioning as the resultant three aspects may occur unimpededly, we work with the three in their pathway phase. We do this in three stages. Let us look at them in reverse order from the sequence of practice.

Atiyoga Stage

Atiyoga has two extremely advanced stages of practice with rigpa: break-through (khregs-chod) and leap-ahead (thod-rgal).

Break-through practice emphasizes rigpa’s essential nature of primal purity. At this stage, we access rigpa, with its nonconceptual cognition of voidness, and attain a seeing pathway mind (mthong-lam, path of seeing), becoming an arya (‘ phags-pa). This is equivalent to attaining the actual clear light stage in anuttarayoga tantra. Although both truths are inseparable and simultaneously arise in rigpa, only its deepest truth – namely, its primal purity – is prominent at this stage. Rigpa’s superficial truth (its appearance-making) and all its other good qualities are not fully prominent.

Following break-through, leap-ahead practice emphasizes rigpa’s influencing nature of responsiveness and its functional nature of spontaneously establishing appearances. From repeatedly abiding in rigpa, we cut the continuity of sem, which is the immediately preceding condition (de-ma-thag rkyen) for our experience being comprised of our ordinary five aggregate factors (phung-po lnga). Consequently, rigpa spontaneously gives rise to an appearance of itself as a rainbow body (‘ ja’-lus). Both truths are still inseparable and simultaneously arise, but here rigpa’s superficial truth – its responsiveness and spontaneous establishment of appearances – is more prominent. This stage is equivalent to the stage of the unified pair of the purified illusory body and clear light, and an accustoming pathway mind (sgom-lam, path of meditation).

There are two types of practitioners: those who progress in stages (lam-rim-pa) and those for whom it happens all at once (cig-car-ba). After attaining break-through, the former progress through the various stages of leap-ahead, one by one, spanning the ten levels of bhumi-mind (sa-bcu) of arya bodhisattvas, until their attainment of enlightenment. The latter attain break-through, leap-ahead, and enlightenment all at once, due to an enormous amount of enlightenment-building positive force (merit) from previous intensive practice, often from former lives.

Mahayoga Stage

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As preparation for the atiyoga stage of dzogchen practice, we need to practice the equivalent of the generation stage, as emphasized in mahayoga. For this reason, atiyoga is often called maha-atiyoga.

The most important feature of mahayoga generation stage practice is the three samadhis (ting-nge-’dzin gsum, three absorbed concentrations), in which we work with the three aspects of rigpa in our imaginations:

Basis samadhi on the authentic nature (gzhi de-bzhin-nyid-kyi ting-nge-’dzin, de-ting). In our imaginations, we absorb our concentration in an approximation of rigpa’s primal purity. We do this, for example, by reminding ourselves that primal purity does not come from anywhere, abide, or go anywhere. It is a state of awareness that is free from being pathetic and weak (lham-me lhen-ne), being jittery and explosive (‘ar-ma ‘ur-ma), leaning toward one side or another (zur), and making or dropping plans (rgya-chad). In other words, this is a state of open receptiveness (klong), which is the basis for being able to help others as a Buddha.

Path samadhi illuminating everywhere (lam kun-snang-ba’i ting-nge-’dzin, snang-ting). Moved by compassion that limited beings do not know the primal purity of their rigpa, complete with all qualities, we absorb our concentration in an approximation of rigpa’s responsiveness. This is the subtle mental movement to appear and respond, which is the pathway for helping them.

Resultant samadhi on the cause (‘ bras-bu-rgyu’i-ting-nge-’dzin, rgyu-ting). Here, we arise as a seed syllable, for example hum, which is the cause for appearance as a Buddha-figure. We absorb our concentration on our visualization of this syllable, which represents with an approximation rigpa’s functional nature of spontaneously establishing appearances. Imagining that we appear in a visible form that transforms into a Buddha-figure brings the result of actually helping limited beings.

Practice of the three samadhis of mahayoga purifies our experience of ordinary death, bardo, and rebirth.

Death is like primal purity, devoid of grosser levels of mental activity and energy-wind.

Bardo is like responsiveness, with a slight movement of the subtle energy-winds.

Rebirth is like spontaneously establishing appearances, with the appearance of a seed that will transform into a complete body.

In the other Tibetan traditions, for example Gelug, the equivalent practice on the generation stage is called taking pathway minds for attaining the three corpuses of Buddha (sku-gsum lam-‘khyer):

taking death as a pathway mind for (attaining) a Dharmakaya, taking bardo as a pathway mind for (attaining) a Sambhogakaya,

taking rebirth as a pathway mind for (attaining) a Nirmanakaya.

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Empowerment Stage

To gain the ability to practice mahayoga and atiyoga successfully, we need to receive an empowerment (dbang, “wang,” initiation) and keep the vows conferred at that time.

[See: Basic Features of Tantra.]

In general, a tantric empowerment activates our Buddha-nature factors through consciously experiencing a specific state of mind with understanding during the ritual and through being uplifted by the inspiration (byin-rlabs, blessings) of the tantric master.

Consciously experiencing something here does not mean having a mystical experience. Rather, it means consciously generating a state of mind that is accompanied by understanding, either with or without effort.

In Gelug, the conscious experience is some level of blissful awareness of voidness.

In the non-Gelug systems, it is focus on Buddha-nature in our tantric masters and in us, with some level of understanding of Buddha-nature.

In dzogchen, it is focus specifically on the basis three aspects of rigpa as Buddha-nature factors in our tantric masters and in us.

Three circumstantial factors, corresponding to the three aspects of rigpa, contribute to our conscious insight into Buddha-nature:

the samadhi (absorbed concentration) of the tantric master, corresponding to primal purity,

the mantras the tantric master repeats, corresponding to responsiveness and compassionate communication,

the ritual objects the tantric master uses during the ritual, corresponding to spontaneously establishing appearances.

To gain inspiration from the tantric master in its fullest form, we need to focus with concentration and understanding on these three circumstantial factors. We sustain the conscious experience we gain by receiving and keeping the bodhisattva and tantric vows.

Inner Preliminaries

To be sufficiently receptive and ripe to receive an empowerment – and not just attend one and experience nothing – we need to have practiced beforehand the six inner preliminaries (nang-gi sngon-‘gro). As the nineteenth-century master Dza Peltrul (rDza dPal-sprul O-rgyan ‘jigs-med dbang-po) outlined them in Guideline Instructions from My Totally Excellent (Samantabhadra) Spiritual Mentor (Kun-bzang bla-ma’i zhal-lung, Perfect Words of My Excellent Teacher), they are, in reverse order:

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Guru-yoga, in which we recognize and focus on Buddha-nature in our spiritual mentors and in us, and make a yoke or bond between the two.

We are able to do this successfully based on having made beforehand kusali offerings of chod (chod), in which we imagine cutting up and giving away our ordinary bodies, which come from and are accompanied by unawareness (ignorance).

We are able to do this successfully based on having made beforehand mandala offerings, in which we develop generosity and strengthen our enlightenment-building network of positive force (collection of merit) by imagining giving away the universe.

We are able to do this successfully based on having practiced beforehand Vajrasattva recitation, for purification of the gross obstacles that would prevent us from building up an enlightenment-building network of positive force.

We are able to do this successfully based on having cultivated beforehand bodhichitta and the far-reaching attitudes (phar-byin, Skt. paramita, perfections), so that we are aiming for enlightenment and dedicating our constructive actions for attaining it to benefit all others as much as is possible.

We are able to do this successfully based on having put beforehand the safe direction of refuge in our lives, done while making prostration to show respect to those who have realized rigpa and to our Buddha-natures that will enable us to do the same.

Outer Preliminaries

We are able to practice the six inner preliminaries successfully based on having practiced beforehand the six outer preliminaries (phyi’i sngon-‘gro). Again, in reverse order:

Building and maintaining a healthy relation with spiritual teacher, as a living example of safe direction.

We are able to do this successfully based on having realized beforehand the benefits of liberation, so that we will look for an example of it.

We only think of liberation when we have understood beforehand karmic cause and effect and the fact that we can free ourselves from it.

We only think of karma because it is the cause of the faults of samsara.

We only see this when we have thought beforehand about death and impermanence and the fact that problems and suffering continue from lifetime to lifetime.

We think of death only when we have appreciated beforehand our precious human rebirths.

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The Four Types of Rigpa

Basis rigpa (gzhi’i rig-pa). Of basis, path, and result, this is the basis. We can experience it only at the clear light of death, although normally we never recognize it. The next two rigpas correspond to the path.

Effulgent rigpa (rtsal-gyi rig-pa), sometimes also called appearance-making basis rigpa (gzhi-snang-gi rig-pa), is the spontaneous establishing aspect of rigpa, which we recognize on the path first.

Essence rigpa (ngo-bo’i rig-pa), sometimes also called nature rigpa (rang-bzhin-gyi rig-pa), is the primal purity (essential nature) aspect of rigpa, as recognized on the path after we recognize effulgent rigpa. Sometimes, we speak of a fourth type of rigpa:

Rigpa of all-embracing spontaneous presence (lhun-grub sbubs-kyi rig-pa) is the resultant rigpa equivalent to Dharmakaya.

Basis Rigpa and the Alaya for Habits

A synonym for basis rigpa is primordial deepest alaya (ye-don kun-gzhi, primordial deepest all-encompassing foundation), since it is the source of all appearances of samsara and nirvana.

Without beginning, basis rigpa has been flowing with a fleeting factor of dumbfoundedness, which obscures its reflexive deep awareness, preventing it from knowing rigpa’s own face.

Because of the combination of basis rigpa and dumbfoundedness, basis rigpa functions as an alaya for habits (bag-chags-kyi kun-gzhi, all-encompassing foundation for habits), which is a type of sem. Habits include the habits of grasping for true existence, karmic habits, and memories (habits for repeatedly remembering something).

The alaya for habits is the usual clear light of death of ordinary beings, as well as what underlies and accompanies every moment of grosser levels of cognition while alive. It is not that basis rigpa is the cause of alaya for habits – they are essentially the same thing (ngo-bo gcig, the same item described from two points of view).

As is the case with all other types of nonconceptual awareness, the alaya for habits is aware of things, but does not give labels (a conceptual process) or follow things out with a train of thought. The alaya for habits gives rise to six types of primary consciousness (rnam-shes) and the cognitive appearances of their cognitive objects. The six types of primary consciousness are the five sensory ones, which are always nonconceptual, and mental consciousness, which may be conceptual or nonconceptual (as in dreams in which cognitive appearances of sensory objects arise or in ESP). Together, the primary consciousness and the cognitive appearance simultaneously arise, abide, and disappear each moment, and the moments of them have an order or sequence according to karma.

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[See: Alaya and Impure Appearance-Making.]

Disturbing Awareness

Disturbing awareness (nyon-yid, deluded awareness, defiled awareness) accompanies the alaya for habits, and both it and the alaya for habits are considered as types of primary consciousness. Thus, in Nyingma, sem includes eight types of primary consciousness – five sensory, one mental, disturbing, and the alaya for habits.

Disturbing awareness conceives of the alaya for habits as an unaffected, monolithic, independently existing “me” that lords over the aggregate factors of experience, such as the body and mind. This leads to the disturbing attitude of conceiving of “me” as “me, the experiencer, possessor, or controller of what is cognized.”

In more detail, nonconceptual cognition by the six types of consciousness lasts only a millisecond. Disturbing awareness does not function then. Immediately following that millisecond, however, with conceptual cognition (mental), disturbing awareness gives rise to the appearance, perception, and grasping (belief in) a seemingly independent boss “me.” Next, it gives rise to the dual appearance of “me, the one who experiences something, the possessor, the controller” and “the object that I experience, possess, control.” Based on that, we experience disturbing emotions and attitudes, the impulses of karma, and suffering.

The Difference between the Alaya for Habits in Nyingma and the Alayavijnana in Chittamatra

Tibetan Buddhism classifies into four tenet systems (grub-mtha’) the philosophical views of the major Indian Buddhist schools that were studied in the Indian monastic universities when the Tibetans began to study Buddhism there in the eighth century. Each of the four Tibetan traditions, however, presents the assertions of the four tenet systems differently. Even within one Tibetan tradition, various masters explain the four differently and some masters, such as Tsongkhapa, explained some of the points differently in texts that they wrote at different periods in their lives.

Among the four tenet systems, the Chittamatra (sems-tsam-pa, mind-only) school asserts alayavijnana (kun-gzhi rnam-shes, all-encompassing foundation consciousness, “storehouse consciousness”) . This is the level of mental activity that continues from one lifetime to the next, carrying with it all the samsaric habits.

The dzogchen teachings, however, are presented within the context of the Madhyamaka (dbu-ma) school. Although the Nyingma tradition of Madhyamaka accepts in its description of superficial truth (dealing with sem) many of the categories of phenomena used in Chittamatra – such as alaya, disturbing awareness, and reflexive awareness (rang-rig) – Nyingma asserts their manner of existence and certain characteristics of them differently.

Concerning the alaya for habits in Nyingma and the alayavijnana in Chittamatra as presented in Nyingma:

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The manner of existence of the alaya for habits is beyond words and concepts – beyond the four extremes of having true unimputed existence, lacking true unimputed existence, both, and neither. Chittamatra asserts alayavijnana as having true unimputed existence.

The alaya for habits is essentially the same thing as basis rigpa. The alayavijnana is not the same thing as the pure sphere of the mind (chos-kyi dbyings). The two are mixed together, like milk and water. With the attainment of liberation, the alayavijnana separates out from the pure sphere of the mind, like milk curdling, and its continuity ends.

[For more detail on the Chittamatra school, see: Basic Features of the Gelug-Chittamatra System, 2 Specific Points Concerning the Three Types of Phenomena.]

Similar Pages:

Introduction to Dzogchen Fundamentals of Dzogchen Meditation (multipart text) Alaya and Impure Appearance-Making Inspiration (“Blessings”) and Its Relation to Mantras and Oral Transmission

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Brief History of DzogchenAlexander Berzin November 10-12, 2000

Introduction

Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen), the great completeness, is a Mahayana system of practice leading to enlightenment and involves a view of reality, way of meditating, and way of behaving (lta-sgom-spyod gsum). It is found earliest in the Nyingma and Bon (pre-Buddhist) traditions.

Bon, according to its own description, was founded in Tazig (sTag-gzig), an Iranian cultural area of Central Asia, by Shenrab Miwo (gShen-rab mi-bo) and was brought to Zhang-zhung (Western Tibet) in the eleventh century BCE There is no way to validate this scientifically. Buddha lived in the sixth century BCE in India.

The Introduction of Pre-Nyingma Buddhism and Zhang-zhung Rites to Central Tibet

Zhang-zhung was conquered by Yarlung (Central Tibet) in 645 CE. The Yarlung Emperor Songtsen-gampo (Srong-btsan sgam-po) had wives not only from the Chinese and Nepali royal families (both of whom brought a few Buddhist texts and statues), but also from the royal family of Zhang-zhung. The court adopted Zhang-zhung (Bon) burial rituals and animal sacrifice, although Bon says that animal sacrifice was native to Tibet, not a Bon custom. The Emperor built thirteen Buddhist temples around Tibet and Bhutan, but did not found any monasteries.

This pre-Nyingma phase of Buddhism in Central Tibet did not have dzogchen teachings. In fact, it is difficult to ascertain what level of Buddhist teachings and practice were introduced. It was undoubtedly very limited, as would have been the case with the Zhang-zhung rites.

Guru Rinpoche and the Introduction of Nyingma Dzogchen

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The next major figure, Emperor Tri Songdetsen (Khri Srong sde-btsan), was cautious of the Chinese and paranoid of Zhang-zhung, most likely because his pro-Chinese father had been assassinated by the xenophobic, conservative Zhang-zhung political faction in the imperial court. In 761, he invited the Indian Buddhist abbot Shantarakshita to Tibet. There was a smallpox epidemic. The Zhang-zhung faction in court blamed Shantarakshita and deported him from the land. On the abbot's advice, the Emperor then invited Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) from Swat (northwestern Pakistan), who drove out the demons who had caused the smallpox. The Emperor then reinvited Shantarakshita.

Guru Rinpoche left in 774, without having completed the full transmission of dzogchen. Seeing that the times were not ripe, he buried some texts as buried treasure texts (gter-ma, "terma"). They were exclusively texts on dzogchen.

Samyay Monastery and the Bonpo Exile

Samyay Monastery (bSam-yas) (the first monastery in Tibet with the first seven Tibetan monks) was completed shortly afterwards. Chinese from the Chan (Jap. Zen) tradition, Indian, and Zhang-zhung translators worked together there. Buddhism became the state religion in 779, probably because Emperor Tri Songdetsen needed an alternative culture to Zhang-zhung for unifying the country. The Emperor appointed three families to support each monk.

Tibet conquered Dunhuang (Tunhuang, a Buddhist oasis on the Silk Route northwest of Tibet) from China in 781. Yet, the Chinese emperor sent two Chinese monks to Samyay every other year from 781, to maintain his influence.

Shantarakshita died in 783, warning of trouble from the Chinese, and advised inviting his disciple Kamalashila to debate them, which the Tibetans did.

The next year, in 784, a grand persecution and exile of the Bonpos (followers of Bon) took place. Most went to Gilgit (northern Pakistan) or Yunnan (southwestern China). According to the traditional Bon account, Zhang-zhung Drenpa-namka (Dran-pa nam-mkha') buried the Bon texts (all categories, not just dzogchen) at this time for safekeeping.

Historical and political analysis reveals that the reason for the exile was suspicion that the xenophobic conservative Zhang-zhung political faction might assassinate the Emperor for being pro-Indian, as they had done to his father. Moreover, the state kept the Bon burial rituals and sacrifices. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that it was a persecution of the Zhang-zhung political faction, not a persecution of the Bon religion.

For this reason, several Western scholars assert that the term Bonpo (followers of Bon) in this period had primarily a political rather than religious reference. It was used for the Zhang-zhung political faction at the court and their followers, rather than for the spiritual leaders who performed the Zhang-zhung religious rites at the court and their followers.

Vairochana, Vimalamitra, and the Samyay Debate

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Emperor Tri Songdetsen sent Vairochana, one of the seven original Tibetan monks from Samyay, to India for more texts. He brought back both dzogchen and Buddhist medicine tantras, and invited the Indian dzogchen master Vimalamitra, who brought more texts.

The Samyay debate was in 792-794, between Indian and Chinese Buddhism. The Indian side, led by Kamalashila, won; the Chinese, led by Hoshang Mahayana (Chinese for "Mahayana monk"), were expelled from Tibet. The Tibetans officially adopted Indian Buddhism and Indian Buddhist medicine, although they kept some Chinese medicine influences combined with it.

Shortly afterwards, the Tibetan Vairochana was exiled after Indian abbots slandered him for revealing too much, so he buried more dzogchen texts, as did the Indian Vimalamitra.

The Three Divisions of Nyingma Treasure Texts

From the treasure texts buried by Vairochana and Vimalamitra and those buried earlier by Guru Rinpoche, the dzogchen teachings were later divided into three divisions.

1. semdey (sems-sde, mind division), emphasizing pure awareness (rig-pa) as the basis for all (kun-gzhi, Skt. alaya),

2. longdey (klong-sde, open space division), emphasizing the cognitive open space aspect (klong) of pure awareness as the basis for all,

3. menngag-dey (man-ngag sde, quintessence teachings division), also called nyingtig (snying-thig, heart essence division), emphasizing pure awareness being primally pure (ka-dag).

The first two derive from the treasure texts buried by the Tibetan monk Vairochana and are not practiced much today. The mind division comes from Indian texts that Vairochana translated; the open space division from his oral teachings. The quintessence teachings division has two sections from the two Indian teachers, one from Guru Rinpoche: Kadro Nyingtig (mKha'-'gro snying-thig, Dakini Heart Essence Teachings) and one from Vimalamitra: Vima Nyingtig (Bi-ma snying-thig, Vimalamitra's Heart Essence Teachings).

The Persecution of Buddhism

Emperor Relpachen (Ral-pa-can) (a Buddhist fanatic), in 821, after signing a peace treaty with China (complete with animal sacrifice) made the Samyay abbot the head of the State Council. He decreed that each monk in Tibet be supported by seven families. He also formed a council to authorize terms to be included in a large Sanskrit-Tibetan compendium of translation terms he commissioned, Mahavyutpatti (Bye-brag-tu rtogs-pa chen-po, Grand [Lexicon] for Understanding Specific [Terms.]) No tantra terms were included. The Emperor and his council decided what was translated and allowed practice of only the first two classes of tantra.

Most likely due to the excesses of Emperor Relpachen, his successor Emperor Langdarma (gLang-dar-ma) closed monasteries and persecuted monks from 836-842.

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The Buddhist libraries and the ngagpa (sngags-pa, tantric) lay tradition, however, were preserved.

The first buried Bon treasure texts were recovered by accident at Samyay in 913.

The New Transmission Schools

Atisha was sent for from India in late tenth century, to clear up misunderstandings of Buddhism, especially about tantra, concerning sex and sacrifices. New translations were made from Sanskrit, starting with the work of Rinchen-zangpo (Rin-chen bzang-po).

During the early eleventh century, the Kadam (later became Gelug), Sakya, and Kagyu traditions developed as the Sarma (gSar-ma, New Transmission, New Tantra) Schools. In contrast, Nyingma is the Old Transmission or Old Tantra School.

Bon also revived at this time, but now its contents are very Buddhist. Bon texts were codified in 1017 - mostly non-dzogchen texts in the main categories of the Buddhist literature. Later in the eleventh century, Nyingma and more Bon dzogchen texts were found, often by the same person.

The Southern and Northern Treasure Text Lineages

In first half of fourteenth century, the Sakya master Buton (Bu-ston Rin-chen grub) compiled the Zhalu Manuscript, which was the forerunner of the Kangyur (bKa'-'gyur, the words of the Buddha). He did not include any dzogchen materials in it, or any of the Old Translation Period translations of the tantras.

Buton's contemporary, Longchenpa (Klong-chen Rab-'byams-pa Dri-med 'od-zer). put together Kadro and Vima Nyingtig into Zabmo Nyingtig (Zab-mo snying-thig, The Profound Heart Essence Teachings), and collected and organized the dzogchen texts available at his time. From him derives the Nyingma Southern Treasure Text Lineage (lho-gter).

Bon codified its equivalent of the Kangyur in the second half of fourteenth century, which includes dzogchen.

The Nyingma Northern Treasure Text Lineage (byang-gter) was started in the late fourteenth century by Rigdzin Godem Jey (Rig-dzin rGod-ldem rJe dNgos-grub rgyal-mtshan), a descendent of the early Tibetan kings. The head of this lineage is called Rigdzin chenpo (rig-'dzin chen-po).

Compilation of the Nyingma Canon and Major Texts

In the early fifteenth century, Ratna Lingpa (Ratna gling-pa) compiled the Nyingma Gyubum (rNying-ma rgyud-'bum, Lakhs of Nyingma Tantras), the collection of all dzogchen texts and all the Old Transmission translations of tantras, expanding on Longchenpa's work.

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Jigmey Lingpa (' Jigs-med gling-pa mKhyen-brtse 'od-zer), in the late eighteenth century, revised Longchenpa's Zabmo Nyingtig and made it into Longchen Nyingtig (Klong-chen snying-thig, Longchenpa's Heart Essence Teachings), the main Nyingma dzogchen system practiced today. His disciple, the First Dodrubchen (rDo-grub chen 'Jigs-med 'phrin-las 'od-zer), wrote a ritual text of preliminary practices for it, Longchen ngondro (Klong-chen sngon-'gro).

The Rimey Nonsectarian Movement

In the next generation, of the three main founders of the Rimey (nonsectarian movement): Kongtrul (Kong-sprul Yon-tan rgya-mtso), Jamyang-kyentsey-wangpo (' Jam-dbyangs mkhyen-brtse dbang-po), and Mipam (' Ju Mi-pham rgya-mtsho), the latter wrote the main Nyingma commentaries to the major texts.

In the next generation of disciples, Peltrul (rDza dPal-sprul 'O-rgyan 'jigs-med dbang-po) wrote Guideline Instructions from My Totally Excellent (Samantabhadra) Spiritual Mentor (Kun-bzang bla-ma'i zhal-lung, Perfect Words of My Excellent Teacher, Kunzang Lamey Zhellung). This is the most elaborate Nyingma text on the equivalent of lam-rim (graded stages of the path) and on the preliminaries for the Longchen Nyingtig.

Peltrul and Jamyang kyentsey-wangpo's disciple, the Third Dodrubchen (rDo-grub-chen 'Jigs-pa'i bstan-pa'i nyi-ma), wrote the clearest commentaries on dzogchen -Dzogchen Cycles (rDzogs-chen skor) and Miscellaneous Writings on Dzogchen (rDzogs-chen thor-bu) - putting dzogchen in the context of the other traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. These are the commentaries that His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama strongly relies on as a source for his explanations of a unified theory of all four Tibetan traditions.

Is Dzogchen Buddhist or Bon?

Is Bon Buddhist or non-Buddhist? Both lead to enlightenment, and use the term Buddhahood. The seventh-century Indian master Dharmakirti said that if a work accords with the main themes of Buddha, it is Buddha's teaching. Thus, both Nyingma and Bon dzogchen are clearly Mahayana Buddhist teachings because both have shared features with the Mahayana sutras. Each, of course, also has its unique uncommon features. Furthermore, whether we say dzogchen is a division of tantra or beyond the divisions of sutra and tantra, Nyingma and Bon dzogchen also share features in common with the various tantra classes.

Since Nyingma and Bon both claim the origin of dzogchen and that the other copied it from them, there are three possibilities:

1. Dzogchen developed very early in Buddhism and Bon received it through the early spread of Buddhism in Iran and Central Asia, through Zhang-zhung. Thus, Bon dzogchen had a Buddhist origin, but not directly an Indian Buddhist one.

2. Bon learned of dzogchen from Guru Rinpoche at Samyay and buried it when the Zhang-zhung Bon faction went into exile in 784, mostly to Gilgit (northern Pakistan).

3. When the Zhang-zhung Bonpos went into exile to Gilgit, they learned of it there, separate from Guru Rinpoche.

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It is not possible to come to a decisive conclusion about which possibility is correct.

Dzogchen in the Kagyu Traditions

Dzogchen is also found in Drugpa Kagyu, coming from its late twelfth-century founder, Tsangpa Gyaray (gTsang-pa rGya-ras).

The Third Karmapa (Kar-ma Rang-byung rdo-rje) introduced dzogchen into Karma Kagyu in the early fourteenth century and wrote the Karma Nyingtig (Kar-ma snying-thig, Karmapa's Heart Essence Teachings). He studied dzogchen with Kumararaja, the same dzogchen teacher as Longchenpa had. Thus, Guru Rinpoche is visualized in the Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi's heart in the Karma Pakshi practice. There is also a Karma Kagyu practice of Guru Rinpoche.

Dzogchen entered the Drigung Kagyu tradition via the treasure texts discovered by the sixteenth century masters Drigung Ratna (rGyal-dbang Rin-chen phun-tshogs ‘Bri-gung Ratna) and the Fourth Drigung Lho Jedrung (‘Bri-gung Lho rJe-drung O-rgyan nus-ldan rdo-rje).

Dzogchen and the Dalai Lamas

In the mid-seventeenth century, the Fifth Dalai Lama had pure visions of dzogchen. He compiled them into Bearing the Seal of Secrecy (gSang-ba rgya-can) and introduced these dzogchen practices to his Namgyal Monastery, which otherwise mostly practices Gelug.

Guru Rinpoche prophesied that if the line from the early Tibetan kings - whose descendants, the line of Rigdzin-chenpos, were the heads of the Northern Treasure Text Lineage - discontinued, it would be detrimental to Tibet. Thus, the Fifth Dalai Lama transmitted his dzogchen lineages also to the Rigdzin-chenpo of his times. Consequently, the Northern Treasure Text Lineage also practices the Fifth Dalai Lama's dzogchen teachings.

The next Rigdzin-chenpo transmitted the Fifth Dalai Lama's dzogchen teachings to Nechung Monastery, the monastery of the state oracle, Nechung (gNas-chung). The Nechung oracle was appointed at Samyay by Guru Rinpoche to protect Tibet. There has been a personal connection between the Dalai Lamas and the Nechung oracle since the time of the Second Dalai Lama, when he moved from Tashilhunpo Monastery to Drepung Monastery.

The Fifth Dalai Lama also appointed the throneholder of the Nyingma Mindroling monastery (sMin-gling khri-can, "Minling Trichen") the head of the Southern Treasure Text Lineage. Thus, the Fifth Dalai Lama supported both major Nyingma lineages. There has been a close connection between the line of Dalai Lamas and the Nyingma tradition ever since.

[For a schematic presentation of the major points, see: Brief History of Dzogchen in Chart Form.]

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Similar Pages:

Introduction to Dzogchen Bon and Tibetan Buddhism Introductory History of the Five Tibetan Traditions of Buddhism and Bon The Four Traditions of Tibetan Buddhism: Personal Experience, History, and

Comparisons – Session One: Personal Experience and History

Brief History of Dzogchen in Chart FormAlexander Berzin November 2000This page contains a graphical diagram, which is sadly not accessible. The same and more information can be found in textual form in the article: Brief History of Dzogchen.

[For the details, see: Brief History of Dzogchen.]

Late 8th C.   

Emperor Tri Song-detsen

Shantarakshita - Kamalashila

Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava (Kadro Nyingtig)

Vimalamitra

(Vima Nyingtig) Tibetan - Vairocana

   quintessence teachings division

(heart essence)mind division

open space division

   

Early 14th C. 

Longchenpa (Zabmo Nyingtig)

Southern Treasure Lineage   

   

Late 14th C. 

Rigdzin Godem Jey Northern Treasure Lineage

   

Early 15th C. 

Ratna Lingpa (Nyingma Gyubum)

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        Late 17th C. 

        Dalai Lama V (Mindro Trichen as head of

Northern Lineage)

Namgyal + Nechung

   

Late 18th C.   

Jigmey Lingpa (Longchen Nyingtig)

   

   

Dodrubchen I (Longchen Ngondro)

   

   

Early 19th C.

Kongtrul Jamyang-kyentsey-wangpo

Mipam (Rimey)

   

   

Late 19th C.

Peltrul (Kunzang Lamey Zhellung)

Dodrubchen III   

   

Late 20th C.His Holiness the Fourteenth

Dalai Lama   

 

Similar Pages:

Brief History of Dzogchen The Major Facets of Dzogchen A Brief History of Dorjey-drag Monastery

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A Precious Garland for the Four Themes (of Gampopa) by Longchenpa (Klong-chen Rab-'byams-pa Dri-med 'od-zer) translated by Alexander Berzin and Matthew Kapstein, 1974

revised by Alexander Berzin, February 2007

Prologue

In Sanskrit, (this text) is called Dharma-chatur-ratna-mala. In Tibetan, it is called Chos-bzhi rin-po-che’i ‘phreng-ba. [In English, it is called A Precious Garland for the Four Themes (of Gampopa).]

I prostrate to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

(1) With a crown of a hundred-fold belief in what’s fact, I make offerings to you, O sun(like Buddhas) Gone to Bliss. In the sphere of the space of your naturally (abiding) Dharmakaya (a Corpus Encompassing Everything), the mandala-disc of your Corpus of Forms having five certainties spreads forth and causes the lotus (minds) of disciples to blossom through the rays of your enlightening deeds.

(2) The cool shade of the precious wish-granting tree of the ways of the Triumphant One’s Dharma offers protection from all the torments of compulsive (samsaric) existence and complacent (nirvana. Therefore,) as a way for all beings with belief in what’s fact to enter (into its shade), step by step, I shall explain the massive tree of good qualities of the four aspects (of the Dharma). Listen well.

1 Having the Mind Go toward the Dharma

Precious Human Rebirth

(3) What anyone who wishes to cross the boundless ocean of recurring samsaric existence first must think is to make full effort, right now in this lifetime, to achieve the stilling and the blissful awareness that are the phenomenon of liberation.

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(4) At (this) time when you have obtained the ship of a (human) body, with respites and enrichments, difficult to find and easily lost, if you do not exert yourself, you will never liberate yourself from the ocean of compulsive existence or break the continuity of having many and varied (kinds of) sufferings.

(5) You will be tossed about in this unbearable, fearsome great ocean (of samsara), where an end to the current of birth and death is not evident, where streaks of foam of sickness and old age thicken everywhere, and where the tides of disturbing emotions spread everywhere, up to the far reaches of the highest realm of compulsive existence.

(6) (But) whoever hears (the Dharma teachings) will be able to break the continuum of birth and death and will never be parted from a supremely great blissful awareness. (Therefore,) with the excellent and precious ship (of a fully endowed human body), make efforts in the supreme Dharma, (which brings) a stilling, in order to cross the repository of waters of the disturbing emotions of the three planes of existence.

(7) If this time around you have not practised toward actualizing a purified state with a pathway of mind (that leads) to liberation, in the future you will never even hear the name fortunate rebirth, and, through endless unfortunate rebirths, one after the next, you will lack any methods for liberating yourself from eternally remaining in uncontrollably recurring samsaric existence.

(8) Therefore, people with sense, having now attained a human body of respites and enrichments, practise to achieve (a state of) benefit and bliss, with great effort from your hearts, and by means of this, come to fulfil the aims of both yourself and others.

Death and Impermanence

(9) Even if you have attained the respites and enrichments, there is never any mental security. As all things are unstable, ever-changing, without any essence, momentary, nonstatic, disintegrating phenomena, think from your hearts, “Soon I shall die, all of a sudden.”

(10) It is the same as well with the entire perishable world of your environment. At the times of its disintegration through seven fires, one flood, or wind, everything will become void, without even a remnant of a tip of a hair left: there will be only space.

(11) Its inhabitants, nonstatic wandering beings, ever are moving. No matter how many limited beings there may be – divine (godly) beings, the would-be divine, humans, animals, clutching ghosts, or joyless realm beings – when their time is up, they must plunge into the waters of death, transference, and rebirth.

(12) Years, months, days, seasons, and moments are impermanent, disintegrate, and march on. As you have sadness with the changing of the four seasons, think about how your own time, too, will be impermanent.

(13) There is no mental security: very soon your body and life-force will part (from each other. Therefore,) from today on, think with certitude, “It is uncertain which will occur first, tomorrow or the time when my life shall be spent.”

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The Shortcomings of Samsara

(14) The sufferings of rebirth are more frightening than those of death. There is never any happiness no matter where you are reborn, for the functional nature of recurring samsara is like that of a pit of fire. (Therefore,) seek a method to liberate yourself from it right now.

(15) Joyless realm beings suffer from heat and cold, clutching ghosts from hunger and thirst, and animals by devouring each other, stupidity, and being muddleheaded. Humans are tormented by the three and the eight faults, the would-be divine by fighting and quarrelling, and divine beings by death, transference, and falling (to lower rebirths).

(16) The happiness (of the divine beings) may change into grief and their affective suffering abounds. After their lives transfer from the pleasures associated with the divine realms, they may once again enter the fires of a joyless realm. Having thought like this, work to pass beyond compulsive existence.

(17) The appearances of this life are like a dream just as you are about to wake up. They are changing and impermanent. Because you must go on, after having left them behind, what can retinue, wealth and such do for you? Make effort in the Dharma right now!

Developing a Stilled and Settled State of Shamatha

(18) Desire is like poison, weapons, or fire. Tormented (by it), there is never a chance for happiness. There is suffering through accumulating, protecting, and increasing (what you desire, and consequently) you are always bound by arrogance, greed, and stinginess. Having quarrels with everyone, the taints of your disturbing emotions increase. You have mental wandering with busy-work and it threatens your body and life.

(19) Having your aims and activities be too numerous and contradictory to the Dharma is always scorned by the highly realized aryas. (But) for those whose desires are few, constructive (activities and qualities) automatically increase. Therefore, those (of you) who would enter into a pathway of mind (that leads) to liberation, which is a stilled state, make your desires be few and have contentment.

(20) It is said that if you exhaust your desires, you are a real arya; and if your desires are few, you are of the arya type. Just as suffering and disturbing emotions increase for those with desire, what is constructive naturally increases for those whose desires are few. Therefore, by following in the footsteps of the hallowed beings of the past, be always content and make your possessions be few.

(21) The faults of associating with people are indeed without limit. There is far too much useless distraction and activities. Anger, arguments, and fighting increase, and attraction and repulsion arise. You always become infected with suffering and that’s pointless.

(22) No matter what you have done, there is never a time when you can please (others). No matter how you try to teach them (the Dharma), the chances to benefit (them) are

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slim. Likewise, even when you listen (to them), it’s never the excellent Dharma. Even if you are close (to them) as friends, in the end you will have to part.

(23) Therefore, rid yourself completely of close relationships of dependency on followers, friends, or relatives, and make a definite effort, from today on, to practise the hallowed Dharma, alone in isolation.

(24) Supreme hallowed beings of the past have said that from living in isolation, they found the nectar (of Dharma experience). Therefore, (resolve that) I too shall live alone in isolation in a forest in order to actualize a state of being stilled.

(25) Living in isolation has been praised by the Triumphant (Buddhas). With no one unruly (around you), you increase your absorbed concentration on what is profound. You naturally practise the Dharma and develop sombre thoughts of impermanence. You put material possessions aside and have no busy-work or distractions.

(26) Your bountiful stores of belief in what’s fact, renunciation, and good qualities enlarge and, not having close relationships, automatically your activities decrease. Therefore, without (concern for) the eight transitory things in life, or for keeping the minds of others (happy) or saving face, pass your days and nights with the Dharma in the bliss associated with being under your own control.

(27) Making your respites and enrichments have meaning and taking the essence of your attainment (of them) – as words cannot encompass those and more benefits, practise absorbed concentration on the profound (Dharma) for your entire life, alone, in the middle of a totally isolated forest.

(28) May the cooling rain of the Dharma, well spoken like that, after stilling (all) disturbing emotions and tormenting conceptual thoughts, fill the pond of lotuses, which are constructive masses of absorbed concentrations, and (thus) spread an endowment of a stilled state.

This (concludes) the first chapter of A Precious Garland for the Four Themes (of Gampopa), “Having the Mind Go toward the Dharma.”

2 Having the Dharma Function as a Pathway of Mind

The Necessity for Having the Dharma Function as a Pathway of Mind

(29) Those of you who wish for a pathway of mind (that leads) to liberation, having, through belief in what’s fact, engaged yourselves with the supreme, lustrous, hallowed Dharma like that – cherish making the Dharma go (within you) as a pathway of mind, in order that your very mind becomes fully tamed.

(30) There are those who have engaged themselves with the teachings of the Triumphant (Buddhas) like this and have even embarked on hearing, thinking, and meditating (on them). Yet some have not stilled (their disturbing emotions): their mental continuums are worse. Some engage themselves with distorted pathways of mind, or inferior ones, or pathways of mind that lead astray.

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(31) (Some have) great desires and craving, and (some are) distracted with (concerns for) this life and the like. All those faults, contradictory to the Dharma, have come from their not having made that Dharma go (within them) as a pathway of mind. The faults (that come) from that in this and future (lives) are boundless.

(32) Whoever is fooled by (such) deception will be (filled with) regret at the time of death, will have terror and anxiety in the bardo in-between period, will go to worse rebirth states in the future, and not have the opportunity to liberate themselves forever from compulsive existence. Therefore, make the Dharma go (within you) as a pathway of mind.

(33) Just as you may improperly even take hygienic medicine as an antidote for a sickness, yet since it was in fact improperly (taken), it would make you even more tormented than you were tormented (before); likewise, what use is the Dharma if you have not made it go as an antidote? Therefore, as there are boundless faults like that; O people having belief in what’s fact, understand this well.

Entrusting Yourself to Spiritual Mentors

(34) Concerning that, since making that Dharma go (within you) as a pathway of mind depends, first of all, on spiritual mentors, cherish entrusting yourself to qualified hallowed gurus. All excellent bounteous good qualities come from that.

(35) As for that, entrust yourself fully and with great (respect and) appreciation to those who are skilled in methods, have a compassionate nature, are stilled, are tamed and have patience; who have a splendid manner of behavior (in accord) with their vows and close bonds, have heard many (teachings), and have (achieved) a great (level) of having trained (in them) well;

(36) (Those who) have a boundless enlightening influence that automatically transforms the appearances of others; who are not corrupted with (thoughts of) this life; who are purified, like the sky, of concerns about the eight (transitory) things in life; who have making (life) meaningful as the gauge for association (with them), and who set out (for others) the pathway of mind (that leads) to liberation. (Such spiritual mentors as) this are emanations of the Triumphant (Buddhas) at (this) time of the deteriorations.

(37) The benefits from that are boundless and inexhaustible: You become disgusted with compulsive existence and renounce it. (Thus,) your worldly planning becomes less; your concerns for this lifetime become lame; and your grasping for an impossible “soul” (based on) deceptive appearances falls apart;

(38) You naturally become tamed; you come to possess (the powers of) listening, thinking, and meditating (on the teachings); you come to possess the good qualities of having extensively trained, such as belief in what’s fact; your present life becomes meaningful; and your future ones will reap the results. Therefore, entrust yourself to hallowed (spiritual mentors).

(39) Moreover, by being undeceiving with your three gateways (for action), always please (your spiritual mentors) by showing respect from your appreciation (of their

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kindness), like a patient to a doctor, a sea merchant to a navigator, a passenger to a ferryman, and a visitor to an escort.

(40) It has been said that if you develop thoughts of disbelief (in your spiritual mentors’ actual good qualities) or a distorted view (of them), you enter a worse rebirth state for (as many eons as) the number of moments (you develop it). Therefore, make effort to protect, as you would your eyes, keeping your close bonds (with your teachers) pure, by being extremely sincere in openly admitting (if you ever violate them), restraining yourself (from breaking them), and feeling regret (should you ever transgress them).

Developing Renunciation

(41) Having fully entrusted yourself like that to hallowed spiritual mentors, and then having trained your own mental continuum by listening, thinking, and meditating on (their teachings), transform whatever you do into something intent on a constructive (goal), with the thought of desiring only liberation. This is the quintessence teaching for making that Dharma go (within you) as a pathway of mind.

(42) Whenever you are listening to, thinking about, or reciting (the teachings), undertake that for the intention of liberating your own mental continuum. Whenever you are writing, reading, memorizing, or teaching (the Dharma), undertake it with the desire only for liberation.

(43) Whenever you are meditating, (studying the correct) view, or conducting yourself (with it), strongly make effort to (feel) renunciation and disgust (with samsara) by never parting your thoughts from being (set) only on liberation. There is nothing higher then this heart-essence quintessence teaching.

(44) Eating, sleeping, walking, sitting, talking, speaking, thinking, and so on - in short, whatever activities you do, enhance your disgust (with samsara) by never parting from an attitude of wishing liberation and (thus) tame your mental continuum. This is the essential point for making the Dharma go (within you) as a pathway of mind.

Developing a Bodhichitta Aim

(45) (Furthermore,) for making (the Dharma) go (within you) as a Mahayana pathway of mind in particular, direct toward the benefit of others whatever constructive things you do. (In other words,) develop, with compassion, a bodhichitta aim; have firm conviction (in the good qualities of enlightenment); dedicate (your positive force toward achieving this goal); and rejoice (in your own and others’ efforts toward this), and (thus) practice in full in order to (bring about) the benefit of (all) limited beings.

(46) (Practicing) like this, all wandering beings, (having previously been) your fathers, mothers, relatives, and dear friends, are (appropriate) fields for (receiving) your help. And (so), by developing a bodhichitta aim for (fulfilling) the aims of others as well as your own, practice whatever is constructive for the sake of wandering beings.

(47) “By my constructive (force), may (all) \wandering beings become happy and may the sufferings of all of them ripen on me. May my constructive (force) ripen on (all)

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wandering beings and (thus) may all embodied beings attain enlightenment.” Thinking that, train yourself to develop a bodhichitta aim of immeasurable compassion.

(48) Whatever constructive (actions you do), as preparation develop a bodhichitta aim, as the actual procedure do not be aimed (at impossible ways of existing), and as the conclusion dedicate (to your own and others’ enlightenment the positive force). Moreover, completely purify (yourself of misconceptions about the nature of) the three circles – the object to be trained in, the act of training, and the one who is training. Like illusions, they are mere appearances (based) on nothing real, like magical emanations. (Therefore,) purifying (yourself concerning) the natures (of these three), dedicate (the positive force) in order to benefit others.

(49) “Firm conviction” is having supreme belief in (the good qualities of) the Triumphant (Buddhas), the Triumphant Ones’ Dharma teachings, the hallowed (bodhisattva) spiritual offspring of the Triumphant, and the fields for (growing) positive force – (in the good qualities of) all of these, without exception. From having firm conviction in (the good qualities of what fulfils) your own aims, the aims of others, and the aims of both, you will receive praise, shows of respect, and esteem beyond all examples.

(50) “Rejoicing” is habituating yourself (in meditation) to feeling happy about all the constructive acts of the Triumphant Ones, their spiritual offspring, and all wandering beings. This is a supreme method for transforming fathomless masses of positive force into something immeasurably great.

(51) Make “aspiration prayers” of the purifying (type), for the sake of benefiting wandering beings. (In this connection,) meditate in accord with the quintessence teachings concerning purifying the objects of your actions.

(52) Without being distracted for even a moment to the side of ordinary affairs, take as your heart-essence (practice) having the constructive (actions) of your three gateways (for action) be for the benefit of others. Having tamed your own mental continuum, then coming to have the development of an exceptional resolve is said to be (the way to) make any Dharma (practice) go (within you) as a pathway of mind.

(53) In this way, may the melodious beat of the sound of the wondrous drum of the profound meaning, the renowned roar which is vast and profound, wake all wandering beings from the intoxicating sleep of their unawareness. May they behold, on a wide-spread scale, a joyous banquet of being stilled.

This (concludes) the second chapter of A Precious Garland for the Four Themes  (of Gampopa), “Having the Dharma Function as a Pathway of Mind.”

3 Having the Pathway Minds Eliminate Confusion

The Shared Mahayana Pathway of Mind

(54) Furthermore, out of the shared, special, and unsurpassable methods for having the pathway minds eliminate confusion, the first is the great Mahayana pathway of mind

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that is shared in common (by sutra, all classes of tantra, and dzogchen). With its identity-nature of the four immeasurable attitudes, the development of a bodhichitta aim, aspiration prayer, and compassion, and through great waves of bodhisattva behavior, you eliminate confusion.

(55) When you have (bodhichitta) with a heart-essence of voidness and compassion, and are practicing fully for both your own and others’ aims, then in order to cleanse away fleeting stains from the sphere of all things, which is constructive and unaffected, meditate on the thirty-seven facets leading in the direction of a purified state, which are (cultivated) on the four pathways of mind of building up, applying, seeing, and accustoming. Also, fully perfect the six far-reaching attitudes with the pure view of the sixteen voidnesses and faultless bodhisattva behavior.

(56) (Thus,) understanding the lack of the impossible “souls” of both persons and (all) phenomena and then training with methods that are antidotes for the disturbing emotions and attitudes is the excellent pathway of mind of the bodhisattvas.

(57) In other words, from (understanding that everything conventionally exists) merely in the manner of mirages, dreams, and deceptive appearances, you abandon and adopt (appropriate practices), work for the aims (of others), adopt what is constructive and reject what brings negative force. You cleanse away the disturbing emotions of longing desire, hostility, and naivety with the waters of (their antidotes, namely meditation on) ugliness, love, and dependent arising;

(58) While, on the level of deepest fact, (you understand that) because (this level) is unborn and pure, there are no dualistic (distinctions) of samsara and nirvana: it is parted from (such) mental fabrication. The pathway mind (that understands these) two truths (in terms of) dependent arising is the causal great Mahayana vehicle of mind, that of dialectics.

The Special Mahayana Pathway of Mind

(59) The special great Mahayana pathway of mind, that of secret mantra, has outer and inner (classes). It has the fathomlessly supreme method of the generation and complete stages as a unified pair, by which you cleanse away confusion through various steps.

(60) As for the three outer (classes of) secret mantra, through their taking purification as the main (practice), you abandon and adopt in turn (what is appropriate) and thus remove taints (from your pathway of mind) by (applying their) antidotes. As for the inner (three classes of secret mantra, the emphasis is on) deep awareness, which is a nondualistic unified pair. In terms of (this deep awareness), through (the application of) methods, you transform into a pathway of mind those things that are to be abandoned.

(61) In the mandala of the sphere of the basis, which is a womb containing a Blissfully Gone One, all phenomena, which are its reflexive appearances, are mere appearances of your own limited mind. They are deceptions, not true phenomena – devoid forms that are (just) clarity and appearance itself.

(62) When you have become mindful that the aggregate factors of experience, the element sources, the cognitive stimulators, and so on, are, in pure (form), the five

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(Buddha) families, then through the generation stage (practices), the samsaric world of appearances becomes a single mandala. You join bodies to deities, speech to mantras, and remembrances and (other) conceptual thoughts to emanating and reabsorbing (deep awareness; so that) in the end, (all) deceptive appearances are regarded as a Buddha-field.

(63) With the complete stage (practices), everything is made to enter into the sphere of the actual nature (of all things) and clear light mind beyond all thought. (To accomplish this,) through yoga (practices) dealing with the energy-channels, energy-winds, and creative energy-drops, the energy-winds and the mind (are made) serviceable and the sphere (of voidness) and deep awareness are conjoined. The pathway mind of the great seal, mahamudra, which is (this) indivisible unified pair, is the resultant Vajrayana vehicle of mind of secret mantra.

The Unsurpassable Pathway Mind of Dzogchen

(64) The unsurpassable vehicle of mind of the supremely secret great completeness, dzogchen, connects you directly with the sphere that spontaneously establishes (all appearances). In the sphere of the basis, which is unchanging like space, (the appearances of) all good qualities are spontaneously established like the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. Because (their appearances are) spontaneously established from the depths, without need for being sought, (this is) a pathway of mind with a functional nature of being straightforward, making no effort or exertion.

(65) The mandala of the sphere of the clear light mind is unaffected. It is the naturally abiding Dharmakaya (a Corpus Encompassing Everything), the intended point (of the Buddhas’ teachings), which is equally (in everyone). Having stable realization (of it) is (to have) the supreme (correct) view of the abiding nature (of all things).

(66) On the sphere that is (primally) pure, the clouds of fleeting obscurations (cause) deceptive appearances (to arise on) the limited minds of wandering beings. While not truly existing, yet through their nevertheless appearing, the three planes (of samsaric existence) and the six classes (of wandering beings) are perpetuated. But whatever appears, at the time of its appearing is not (truly) established on the deepest level. Like the sky and the clouds (in it), it is merely appearing (dependently on) fleeting circumstances. (Therefore, as the appearances of) uncontrollably recurring samsaric existence are interpolations; (when you realize) their defining characteristic, they stop.

(67) (In other words,) “while not (truly) existing, (the phenomena of samsara) nevertheless appear” (means that,) being void by their own essential nature, void appearances are not (true) phenomena. They are like a blur, falling hairs (seen by someone with cataract), a dream, a mirage, or a conch perceived as yellow (by someone with jaundice). At the very time of their appearing in whatever way (they may appear), they can never be (validly) experienced as being (truly) established. They are without a basis, without a support, and without an (actual) beginning, middle, or end. Know that, by functional nature, they are pure from the start.

(68) Concerning (all) phenomena like this – the samsaric world of appearances: environments and their inhabitants – there are no (true) cognitive objects to be taken. They are like magical emanations or visual apparitions. And there are no (true) limited

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minds to cognitively take them (as objects. All is) pure like empty space. (Since) there is no (true) pair: cognitive objects to be taken and (limited minds) that cognitively take them, samsara has never been (validly) experienced as being (truly) existent. Liberate (yourself) by knowing that (samsara) is an appearance of what doesn’t (truly) exist and has the functional nature of being deceptive.

(69) Because the appearances of things to be abandoned or adopted, causes, effects, and circumstances naturally purify themselves away, know that, on the deepest level, their abiding nature is beyond cause and effect. The basis support for this (natural purification) is pure awareness, rigpa, the (deepest) bodhichitta mind. The sphere of (naturally) released nirvana, the great spontaneous establisher (of all appearances – this is) the deepest truth, pure from the start.

(70) In other words, with an identity-nature of being without a beginning and without an end, (pure awareness) is the clear light mind in its self-nature – profound, stilled, and parted from mental fabrication. It is (the deep awareness) naturally abiding from the depths, a stainless Dharmakaya Corpus Encompassing Everything. It abides as an essential nature, without shifting or changing over the three times.

(71) This is the sphere of the basis, the diamond-strong vajra essence. In other words, whoever has stable realization of that (pure awareness) has the (correct) view itself of the abiding nature; and, with interpolation and repudiation stilled, has stable realization of it as the heart-essence of the deepest level.

Cultivating a Correct View of Dzogchen in Meditation

(72) Stainless meditation, (done) within a state of stable realization of the heart-essence of the clear light mind, is parted from mental dullness, flightiness of mind, and mental fabrication. It is without distraction, parted from the dualistic mind, and extremely expansive. In other words, it is completely pure like the sky, without restriction or selective bias, beyond all thought, expression, and imagination.

Cultivating Correct Behavior Based on the Dzogchen View

(73) As for behavior, whatever appears has no true (existence): it purifies itself away. (Thus, concerning) internal (limited minds) taking (objects), any that dawn naturally liberate themselves (by automatically dissolving. And concerning) external (objects) cognitively taken, they are like a dream or an illusion. On the deepest level, there isn’t the pair, and (so) act without adopting or discarding.

Recapitulation of Dzogchen

(74) Regarding (limited minds) taking (objects, objects) cognitively taken, disturbing emotions and attitudes, negation and affirmation phenomena – in arising, they are automatically liberating themselves. (That is to say,) with knowing their functional nature, (you know that they automatically) liberate themselves. With their liberating themselves, then within a state of equality in Dharmakaya, complete from the depths, there is no need to seek a nirvana from having an abandonment of samsara.

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(75) Whatever (cognitive objects) appear, they are mirrors revealing the deepest (level). Whatever (limited minds) dawn, (that cognitively take them), know that they automatically liberate themselves. They are the effulgent display of a Dharmakaya. Like water and waves, they have a singular support in Dharmakaya. This is the (Buddhas’) intended point concerning the ultimate level, the very summit of views, the great completeness, dzogchen.

Summary

(76) In short, whoever practices in any of these ways, (know that) grasping for an impossible “ soul” automatically liberates itself and disturbing emotions and attitudes purify away in the sphere (of voidness). Being skilled in the pathways of acting with (these) methods in all (situations) is taught as (the way for) having the pathway minds eliminate confusion.

(77) May all beings, without exception, cross the ocean of compulsive existence by means of the precious great ship of (these) ways of the Dharma like that, and, on the supreme island of a stilled state of precious liberation, behold a banquet of an untainted stilling and bliss.

This (concludes) the third chapter of A Precious Garland for the Four Themes of (Gampopa), “Having the Pathway Minds Eliminate Confusion.”

4 Purifying Confusion into Deep Awareness

Provisional Purification

(78) Next is purifying your confusion into deep awareness. Of the stages for (this) point, the provisional and ultimate, the first is the provisional (purification, dealing with) the time (when you have) a pathway of mind of practicing (to actualize the goal). By familiarising yourself by means of profound methods, whatever disturbing emotions arise totally purify into the sphere (of deep awareness). To make manifest (the underlying) deep awareness which is the natural clarity (of the mind) is called “purifying conceptual thoughts of confusion into the sphere of deep awareness.”

(79) That (provisional stage) can be divided into shared, special, and unsurpassable (methods) according to the methods on which you rely. (These are respectively) cleansing away (the confusion of disturbing emotions) with their antidotes; transforming (them) with methods; and having them purify into the sphere (of deep awareness) without (need for) abandoning them, (since) they automatically liberate themselves in their own place. Regardless of how you train with whichever (method) you like, stopping (the disturbing emotions) comes to the same point as the disturbing emotions (automatically) purifying themselves.

(80) When you recognise the natural ground for the arising of longing desire, hostility, naivety, pride, and jealousy, (you see that) they automatically settle and automatically liberate themselves, purifying into the five aspects of deep awareness. This is called “provisionally purifying the confusion of the five poisonous emotions into the (five)

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major deep awarenesses” – analytic, mirror-like, sphere of reality, equalising, and accomplishing.

Ultimate Purification

(81) The ultimate (purification) is the parting of (all) fleeting stains from the source. In other words, when you discover the purified state that is stilled and parted from any speck (of defilement), you make manifest the functional nature of the sphere just as it is and discover the deep awareness of the three Enlightening Corpuses of a Buddha as being of one taste in Dharmakaya. (This) is called the Corpus of the Sphere Possessing Double Purity. It is not a cognitive object (knowable) by anyone other than the Triumphant (Buddhas) themselves.

(82) The three Enlightening Corpuses (of a Buddha), namely a Corpus Encompassing Everything (Dharmakaya), a Corpus of Full Use (Sambhogakaya), and a Corpus of Emanations (Nirmanakaya), together with deep awareness, are incorporated into a Corpus of Essential Nature (Svabhavakaya), which is static, all-pervasive, unaffected, and without shift or change.

(83) It remains in the sphere of Dharmakaya, which is a wish-fulfilling gem, and, within that state of its real nature, its Deep Awareness Corpus of Enlightening Influence, as a glittering play of Corpuses of Full Use and of Emanations, appears (respectively) to those with (arya bodhisattva) levels of bhumi-mind and to other wandering beings.

(84) Further, it appears like that from the purifying (power) of the combination of the strengths of the enlightening inspiration of the Triumphant Ones and the positive force of the disciples to be tamed. Because (of that purifying power, the attainment of) the enlightening influence (of a Buddha) fulfilling the hopes (of all limited beings), like a wish-granting tree or gem, without any break for as long as compulsive existence endures – this is called “the (ultimate) purification of confusion into deep awareness.”

(85) May the seven-horse-drawn (sun), which is the heart-essence of the profound meaning (explained) like that, shed thousands of light-rays of its various words and their meanings on the world of disciples through the pathway of the sky of their minds and clear away the darkness of unawareness from all wandering beings.

This (concludes) the fourth chapter of A Precious Garland for the Four Themes (of Gampopa), “Purifying Confusion into Deep Awareness.”

Author’s Colophon

(86) This spread of a banquet (laid out) for the sake of both myself and others from the magnificent mansion of the broad intelligence of these (Dharma) methods, and garnished with a lavish amount of hearing, thinking and meditating, has been arranged in accordance with the meaning of the sutras, tantras, and heart-essence quintessence teachings.

(87) By the constructive (force) of this, may I and all wandering beings level the mountain of compulsive samsaric existence in this lifetime and attain a supreme purified

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state that is stilled and parted from any speck (of defilement). May we become Buddhas, completely fulfilling the aims of both ourselves and others.

(88) And then in a land beautified with expansive snow-mountains of clear meaning, may (the sun of our) lustrous good qualities, which extends to the limit of (all) directions, highlight the heart-essence points on the precious gems of the scriptures and (thereby) bring joy to the masses of people with belief in what’s fact.

This work, called “A Precious Garland for the Four Themes (of Gampopa),” has been composed by the yogi of the Supreme Vehicle, Kunkyen Ngaggi-wangpo (Longchen Rabjampa), illumined by the crystal moon in the magnificent mansion of Samantabhadra in a garden called “A Cloud of Flowers” on the slopes of Limestone Mountain and completed in one sitting.

May a rain of great bliss fall for all times and in all directions as in the (golden) age of a complete eon, granting everything hoped for in everyone’s wishes.

 

Similar Pages:

Mahamudra Eliminating the Darkness of Unawareness – Part Four: Enhancing Your Practice

How Gampopa Reached His Spiritual Attainments

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Fundamentals of Dzogchen MeditationAlexander Berzin, January 2001

1 Recognizing Different Levels of Mental Activity and Appearance-Making

[As background, see Introduction to Dzogchen . See also: Major Facets of Dzogchen.]

What is Mind?

The four facts of life (four noble truths) may be formulated in terms of mind, which means in terms of an individual being’s experiencing of them:

1. the experiencing of different types of true sufferings (true problems),2. the experiencing of their true origins (true causes),

3. the experiencing of the true stoppings (true cessations) of both,

4. the experiencing of the true pathways of mind (true paths) that bring about these stoppings and which are themselves states of mind that are devoid of the problems and their causes.

Thus, working with mind is foremost.

Mind, in Buddhism, refers to the individual and subjective mental activity of merely experiencing something – in other words, the individual, subjective mere giving rise to and cognitively engaging (cognizing) a cognitive appearance of something.

Levels of Mental Activity

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There are two ways of differentiating the levels at which mental activity occurs:

1. The Sarma (new translation period) traditions (Sakya, Kagyü, and Gelug) differentiate three levels.

2. Nyingma dzogchen differentiates two levels.

The two systems overlap, since Nyingma divides the subtlest Sarma level into two, taking the subtlest of that as one level (rig-pa, “rigpa,” pure awareness), and all the others as the other level (sems, “sem,” limited awareness). Therefore, let us look first at the Sarma system and then at the dzogchen refinements. Here, we shall look only at the Sakya and Kagyu divisions of Sarma, since the Nyingma presentation fits with their manner of assertion and the Gelug presentation differs from all three.

According to Sarma, the three levels of mental activity are:

1. Gross experiencing of something, which is only with sensory cognition and is only of appearances.

2. Subtle experiencing of something, which is only with mental cognition and can be of either appearances or voidness.

3. Subtlest experiencing of something, which is only with clear light cognition and is of both appearances and voidness inseparably.

Sensory cognition is always nonconceptual. Mental cognition may be nonconceptual (dreaming, ESP) or conceptual. Clear light cognition is always nonconceptual.

Sensory Cognition

In sensory cognition (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and physically feeling something), the different types of sensory consciousness, such as visual or audial, give rise to and directly cognize (dngos-su rig-pa) only mental aspects (rnam-pa, mental holograms) or mental derivatives (gzugs-bsnyan) resembling external phenomena. They only indirectly cognize (shugs-su shes-pa) external phenomena themselves, because the moment of an external phenomenon that a sensory cognition perceives has already ceased to exist the moment that the sensory cognition of it arises. This is because the external phenomenon is the focal condition (dmigs-rkyen, objective condition) for the cognition of it as its result, and a cause cannot exist simultaneously with the effect it produces. Thus, external phenomena remain hidden (lkog na-mo) to sensory cognition.

Further, the mental aspects that appear in sensory cognition are merely aspects resembling the defining components of a specific sensory field. Thus, for example, only mental aspects resembling colored shapes appear to visual cognition and only mental aspects resembling the sounds of vowels and consonants appear to audial cognition.

Because sensory cognition does not interpolate (sgro-‘dogs, superimpose) anything onto the mental aspects, sensory cognition is always nonconceptual.

Conceptualization

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Of the three levels of experiencing something, only mental cognition may be conceptual. Since dzogchen meditation emphasizes nonconceptuality, we need to understand what conceptualization means.

As in nonconceptual sensory cognition, conceptual cognition also directly cognizes only mental aspects (mental holograms), such as mental aspects resembling colored shapes or resembling the sounds of vowels and consonants. With conceptual cognition, however, the mental aspects that arise are mixed with conceptual categories (spyi, universals, mental syntheses), superimposed or projected onto them.  The mental aspects and conceptual categories are consequently confused with each other.

A conceptual category is a mentally constructed synthesis (spros-pa, mental fabrication) of individual items. Conceptual categories arise only in conceptual cognition and are mental representations (snang-ba, mental appearances) that partially veil the mental aspects on to which they are superimposed.

The conceptual categories with which the mental aspects are mixed and confused may be in reference either to conventional objects or to language. 

In reference to conventional objects, categories include: 

collection mental syntheses (tshogs-spyi), kind mental syntheses (rigs-spyi),

object mental syntheses (don-spyi).

A collection mental synthesis may be a whole imputed on spatial, sensorial, and/or temporal parts, such as a whole “table” imputed on four legs and a flat surface. The whole may also be imputed on several types of sensory information, such as both a sight and tactile physical sensation. Further, the whole may be a whole continuum imputed on a succession of moments of either of the previous two types of wholes.

A kind mental synthesis is the type of phenomenon that a specific individual item is an instance of, such as an item being a “table.”

An object mental synthesis is the conceptual category of a commonsense object (‘ jig-rten-la grags-pa), such as “table,” used when thinking of, verbalizing, imagining (visualizing), or remembering a commonsense object.

In reference to language, categories include:

audio categories (sgra-spyi, term universals), meaning categories (don-spyi, meaning universal).

An audio category is an acoustic pattern adopted as a convention (tha-snyad) in a particular language by the members of a specific society. As the acoustic patterns of words, such as “table,” and not the sounds of words (which are collection syntheses and kind syntheses), they are categories in the sense that they are imputable on sounds made in a variety of voices, pitches, volumes, and pronunciations. By themselves, audio categories do not having any meanings associated with them. 

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Thus, when mental aspects resembling the sounds of vowels and consonants appear one by one in sequence in audial cognition, conceptual mental cognition simultaneously

puts them together, mentally synthesizes collection and kind syntheses representing words, phrases,

and sentences, and superimposes on them audio categories of words, phrases, and sentences

A meaning category is a pattern of significance of an audio category, adopted as the meaning of a word, phrase, or sentence in a particular language by members of a specific society. Meanings, after all, do not exist inherently within sounds or words, but are merely conventions coined, assigned to words, and used as categories by the members of a society for thinking and communicating. Moreover, each person in that society may assign a slightly different meaning to a particular word, but still use that meaning as a category when thinking that word.

Most conceptual cognitions are verbal and thus superimpose both audio and meaning categories onto mental aspects. Conceptual cognition, however, may also be nonverbal, in which case it superimposes onto mental aspects only collection, kind, and object syntheses, such as when visualizing or remembering what someone’s face looks like. 

[See: Fine Analysis of Objects of Cognition: Non-Gelug Presentation.] 

The Difference between Conceptual Cognition and Thinking

When Buddhism speaks of conceptualization, it is speaking of moments of conceptually experiencing something. The Western term concepts corresponds to the categories that are mixed and confused with mental aspects in moments of conceptual cognition.

Conceptual cognition is a much broader term than the Western term thinking. Conceptual cognition may occur for only a moment or it may last with continuity, whereas thinking usually implies a train of thought, and most commonly verbal or abstract thought. Moreover, conceptual cognition includes imagining and remembering all types of sense objects, as well as imagining and remembering ways of being aware of something, such as being angry, and abstract things. 

Conceptual Cognition Makes Appearances of True Existence

The conceptual categories that conceptual cognition fabricates are cognitive representations snang-ba, mental appearances) not only of what things are (words, meanings, wholes, continuums, objects, kinds of things, and so on), but also of things truly existing in that way. Truly existing (bden-par grub-pa), here, means really existing in that way, independently of imputation.

Thus, conceptual cognition always entails making appearances of true existence (bden-snang), or dual appearance-making (gnyis-snang). This means appearance-making of truly existent “this”s and “that”s – appearances of items as truly existing in fixed, concrete boxes or categories as “this”s or “that”s.

Conceptual appearance-making of truly existent “this”s and “that”s, then, underlies only

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imagining and verbally thinking. It does not underlie sensory cognition, such as seeing and hearing. In other words, only imagining and verbally thinking are conceptual, because only they make appearances of truly existent “this”s and “that”s.

Perceiving appearances of truly existent “this”s and “that”s and believing that they correspond to reality (bden-‘dzin, grasping for true existence) occur simultaneously, and also only in imagining and verbally thinking. This is because perceiving and believing in truly existent “this”s and “that”s are the same activity from just two points of view. In technical language, they share the same essential nature (ngo-bo gcig). In other words, fabricating an appearance of a truly existent “this” or “that” only occurs when we believe in true existence, when we believe in the concrete boxes or categories of “this” and “that.” 

The Nonconceptuality of Sensory Cognition

Because sensory cognition, such as seeing and hearing, are not conceptual, they do not make appearances of truly existent “this”s and “that”s. They make appearances of non-true existence (med-snang) – appearances of what do not truly exist as “this”s or “that”s. Moreover, seeing and hearing neither perceive nor believe in appearances as truly existent “this”s and “that”s . Seeing and hearing perceive appearances only of what do not truly exist as “this”s or “that”s. What does this mean?

Seeing and hearing occur for only a millisecond. During that millisecond, we see mental aspects resembling only sensibilia, for instance collections of patches of colored shapes, which appear non-truly existent as “this”s or “that”s. We hear only the sounds of consonants and vowels, which also appear non-truly existent as “this” or “that” word with “this” or “that” meaning. Only with conceptual cognition, which follows immediately afterwards, do we mentally synthesize the colored shapes and imagine a face as a whole, for example, which is an appearance of a truly existent object “this” or “that.” Only with conceptual cognition, do we mentally put together the sounds of consonants and vowels and verbally think a whole word and a meaning, which is an appearance of a truly existent “this” or “that.”

Thus, sensory cognition falls in the category of nondetermining cognition (snang-la ma-nges-pa), since it does not ascertain its mental aspects as an object. It does, however, distinguish (‘du-shes) characteristic colored shapes within the visual sense field, for instance – because the aggregate of distinguishing (recognition) accompanies each moment of experience, including nonconceptual cognition. Nevertheless, sensory cognition does not distinguish the mental aspects of those colored shapes as a conventional object, such as a table – and, moreover, as a truly existent table. That type of distinguishing accompanies only conceptual cognition.

[See: The Two Truths in Vaibhashika and Sautrantika . See also: Fine Analysis of Objects of Cognition: Non-Gelug Presentation and Impure and Pure Appearances According to Non-Gelug.]

 How Voidness Is Known

There are two levels of voidness (stong-pa-nyid, Skt. shunyata, emptiness):

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1. voidness that is a conceptual construct,2. voidness that is beyond conceptual constructs.

Voidness, as an absolute absence (med-dgag, nonimplicative negation) of true existence as “this” or “that,” is the conceptual construct or abstraction “there is no such thing as truly existent ‘this’s and ‘that’s.” It can only be known conceptually and is that to which the word or concept “voidness” refers.

Cognizing this level of voidness is a necessary stepping-stone to cognizing definitive voidness, which is beyond all conceptual categories and beyond all words. Although voidness can be referred to by a conceptual construct or word, voidness that is beyond conceptual constructs (definitive voidness) does not correspond to anything a word or concept would correspond to, namely something existing in the fixed box or category of “voidness.”

Thus, the two levels of voidness are not contradictory. It is not that voidness “beyond” is a transcendental level in the sense of being beyond the limits of all possible experience and knowledge, and only accessed through a mystical experience, perhaps gained by the grace of God. It merely means that it is beyond the limits of what conceptual cognition and nonconceptual sensory and mental cognition can cognize.

Voidness as a conceptual construct can only be cognized conceptually. We cognize it conceptually by our mental consciousness giving rise to a mental aspect resembling an empty or blank space, and superimposing or projecting onto it the audio and meaning categories “voidness.” This does not mean, however, that when conceptually focusing on voidness, we necessarily also must have a mental aspect resembling the sound of the vowels and consonants of the word “voidness.” The conceptual cognition of voidness may be nonverbal. Nevertheless, since the mental representations (the conceptual categories) that appear in conceptual cognition are necessarily appearances of true existence, the empty or blank space appears to be a voidness that truly exists in the concrete category “voidness.” The meaning category associated with it, however, is the correct meaning of voidness – namely, the absolute absence of true existence.

Voidness that is beyond concepts can only be cognized nonconceptually, but it cannot be cognized by nonconceptual mental cognition. Nonconceptual mental cognition produces a mental aspect of something not truly existing as a “this” or a “that.” However, voidness that is beyond concepts is beyond all four extremes:

1. truly existing as a “this” or a “that,”2. not truly existing as a “this” or a “that,”3. both truly and not truly existing as a “this” or a “that,”4. neither truly nor non-truly existing as a “this” or a “that.”

Therefore, voidness that is beyond concepts does not cognitively appear as a mental aspect of an empty or blank space that appears to be a voidness in the category of a non-truly existent “ voidness.” 

[See: Affirmations, Negations, and Denumerable and Nondenumerable Ultimate Phenomena.]

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Only Clear Light Mental Activity Can Cognize Voidness beyond Concepts

Only clear light mental activity can have nonconceptual cognition of voidness beyond concepts, and when it does, it has nonconceptual cognition of the two truths (bden-gnyis) simultaneously.

In this context, the two truths are:

voidness beyond concepts, pure appearances (dag-pa’i snang-ba) – appearances that are beyond impure

appearances (ma-dag-pa’i snang-ba).

Impure appearances include:

1. appearances of truly existent “this”s and “that”s,2. appearances of sensibilia, such as momentary collections of patchs of colored

shapes, that are not truly existent as “this”s and “that”s.

[See: Divisions, Causes, and Elimination of Unpurified Appearance-Making According to Non-Gelug.]

Cognition of impure appearances resembles “periscope vision,” with which we view reality through a limited perspective, as if through a periscope. We see only what is in front of our noses, seemingly separated and isolated from the state beyond the seemingly solid categories of words and concepts.

Clear light cognition, on the other hand, produces and cognizes appearances of what are beyond truly and non-truly existent “this”s and “that”s. That does not mean, however, that with clear light cognition, everything becomes an undifferentiated oneness. Objects retain their conventional identities. Moreover, clear light mental activity produces and cognizes appearances both of all phenomena and of itself, for instance as a Buddha-figure. Simultaneously, it also cognizes the voidness of them that is beyond words and concepts.

Clear light cognition, however, may be divided into two:

1. clear light that does not know that the two truths it cognizes are true,2. clear light that knows that they are true.

Sem and Rigpa

The Nyingma dzogchen system differentiates two types of mental activity for experiencing things:

1. sem (sems, limited awareness),2. rigpa (rig-pa, pure awareness).

Roughly speaking, rigpa corresponds to the second division of clear light mental activity: clear light that knows its own two-truth nature.

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Sem corresponds to all levels of mind that do not know this two-truth nature. Thus, sem includes:

clear light mental activity that does not know its own two-truth nature, such as the ordinary clear light awareness of death,

the nonconceptual milliseconds of seeing and hearing appearances of non-true existence, while not knowing the totality of everything in the state beyond concepts, and not cognizing voidness beyond concepts,

imagining or verbally thinking appearances of true existence, while not knowing that they are false, and also not cognizing voidness beyond concepts.

Clear light mental activity, then, that does not know its own two-truth nature, even though it cognizes the two truths simultaneously, is not rigpa. It is sem.

All sem are fleeting, whereas rigpa is unstained by fleeting limited mental activity. Moreover, rigpa is complete with all good qualities (yon-tan), which means that rigpa not only cognizes pure appearances and voidness beyond concepts simultaneously, it knows its own two-truth nature. That knowing is called:

reflexive deep awareness (rang-rig ye-shes), self-arising deep awareness (rang-byung ye-shes), awareness of its own face (rang-ngo shes-pa).

Although rigpa cognizes and knows its own two-truth nature, the two truths may or may not be equally prominent. The two are not equally prominent while still on the path; they are only equally prominent as a Buddha.

Three Aspects of Rigpa

Rigpa has three naturally inseparable (rang-bzhin dbyer-med) aspects. The three simultaneously arise (lhan-skyes) and have the same essential nature (ngo-bo gcig) – they are referring to the same phenomenon from different mental points of view. Nevertheless, they may be differentiated from each other and specified as different conceptually isolated items (ldog-pa).

 [See: Relationships between Two Objects in Anuttarayoga Tantra .]

1. Rigpa is a primally pure awareness (ka-dag), unstained, in the sense of both self-voidness (rang-stong) and other-voidness (gzhan-stong). This aspect derives from logically isolating one truth about rigpa, its voidness.

o Rigpa is self-void in the sense that it is beyond or devoid of existing as anything that would correspond to concepts or words.

o It is other-void in the sense of being an awareness that not only has that void nature, but that also cognizes that void nature, and which is thus devoid of all fleeting levels of “other” mental activity (sem).

2. Rigpa is an awareness that spontaneously establishes pure appearances (lhun-grub). This aspect derives from logically isolating the second truth about rigpa: its appearance-making aspect.

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3. Rigpa is a responsive awareness (thugs-rje). It is compassionate, which implies compassionate communication or responsiveness. This aspect derives from logically isolating a subtler aspect of appearance-making: the responsiveness of appearance-making to other beings and to the environment.

The Three Types of Rigpa

There are three types of rigpa:

1. Basis rigpa (gzhi’i rig-pa) is the working basis that we all have. Although it pervades all moments of sem, like sesame oil pervades a sesame seed, we normally do not recognize it. The next two are the two aspects of rigpa that we recognize on the path.

2. First, we recognize effulgent rigpa (rtsal-gyi rig-pa). It is rigpa in its aspect of actively giving rise to and cognizing pure appearances in response to things. Although it has all three aspects of rigpa, the spontaneous establishing aspect is more prominent.

3. Then, we recognize essence rigpa (ngo-bo’i rig-pa) as what underlies effulgent rigpa. It is rigpa in its aspect of being the cognitive space (klong, spacious awareness) – referring to other-voidness – that allows for the arising and cognizing of pure appearances in response to things. Although it too has all three aspects of rigpa, the primal purity aspect is more prominent.

Dumbfoundedness and the Alaya for Habits

Although the continuity of each being’s individual basis rigpa is unstained, with no beginning and no end, there is also a beginningless factor, called dumbfoundedness (rmongs-cha – stupidity, bedazzlement), that automatically arises simultaneously (lhan-skyes) with each moment of cognition. It is also called automatically arising unawareness (ignorance) (lhan-skyes ma-rig-pa) regarding phenomena, a nominal disturbing attitude (nyon-mongs-kyi ming-btags-pa) included among the obscurations regarding all knowables, and which prevent omniscience (shes-sgrib). It obscures rigpa’s innate good quality of reflexive deep awareness of its own two-truth nature. 

[See: Ridding Oneself of the Two Sets of Obscurations in Sutra and Anuttarayoga Tantra According to Nyingma and Sakya .]

When basis rigpa is flowing together with this fleeting factor of dumbfoundedness, basis rigpa is functioning as an alaya for habits (bag-chags-kyi kun-gzhi) (foundational awareness for the habits of grasping for true existence, for karma, for memories). The alaya for habits is the usual clear light of death of ordinary beings, as well as that which underlies and accompanies every moment of grosser levels of sensory and mental cognition while alive.

It is not that basis rigpa is the cause of the alaya for habits. The two have the same essential nature, in that they refer to the same thing from different mental points of view. Nevertheless, we can logically isolate the two from each other, and thus the alaya for habits and basis rigpa and are not identical. They correspond to the division, made earlier, of clear light mental activity that does not know that the two truths it cognizes are true and the clear light activity that does know that they are true. The fifteenth-

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century Gelug master Kaydrub Norzang-gyatso (mKhas-grub Nor-bzang rgya-mtsho) implies a similar distinction with his explanation that the clear light of death produces an appearance of voidness, but lacks the recognition and understanding of what it is. 

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Introduction to Dzogchen The Major Facets of Dzogchen Disturbing Emotions during Nonconceptual Sensory Cognition Making Sense of Tantra – 9 Non-Gelug Variations Concerning General

Anuttarayoga Fine Analysis of Objects of Cognition The Validity and Accuracy of Cognition of the Two Truths in Gelug-Prasangika

Fundamentals of Dzogchen MeditationAlexander Berzin, January 2001

2 The Steps of Dzogchen Meditation

Recognizing the Alaya for Habits

In dzogchen meditation, we first access and recognize the alaya for habits, then effulgent rigpa, and then essence rigpa. How to recognize the alaya for habits?

The alaya for habits gives rise to seeing and hearing, as well as to imagining and verbally thinking. Imagining and verbally thinking give mental labels of "this" and "that" and follow things out. Seeing and hearing do not give mental labels and do not follow things out.

Like seeing and hearing, the alaya for habits also does not give labels or follow things out, but it is more subtle than seeing and hearing. It underlies them, as well as underlying imagining and verbally thinking.

Recognizing the alaya for habits, however, is extremely difficult. If we see shapes and colors as a face (either with or without an idea of who it is) or hear the sounds of consonants and vowels as a word (either with or without an idea of their meaning), this is not nonconceptual seeing or hearing, let alone the alaya for habits. It is conceptual mental cognition.

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If we are able to recognize the milliseconds of nonconceptual seeing of shapes and colors, without mentally constructing or conceptualizing them into a "this" or a "that," this is still not the alaya for habits. The same is true if we are able to recognize the milliseconds of nonconceptual hearing of the sounds of consonants and vowels, without mentally constructing or conceptualizing them into the words "this" or "that." To recognize the alaya for habits during sensory cognition, we need to go deeper.

In dzogchen literature, such as Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo (Bar-do thos-grol, The Tibetan Book of the Dead), we often read of recognizing rigpa during bardo (bar-do). Bardo usually refers to the period in between death and conception into the next rebirth. Bardo, however, can be the "cognitive space in between" other things. Thus, rigpa - and here, the alaya for habits - can be recognized in the cognitive spaces in between moments of seeing, hearing, imagining, or verbally thinking.

Because recognizing the milliseconds of nonconceptual seeing and hearing is so difficult, let alone recognizing the cognitive spaces in between those milliseconds, we start with trying to recognize the alaya for habits in between moments of verbal thinking. This means trying to recognize it in between each word or syllable of a verbal thought.

Method of Meditating

To avoid distraction from sensory cognition, we meditate in total darkness and total silence with three immovables (mi-g.yo-ba gsum):

1. immovable body - with body straight, hands either in the meditation pose in our laps or lightly resting on the knees,

2. immovable senses - with eyes neither closed nor wide open, but gazing naturally in front,

3. immovable mind - not actively thinking, with no thoughts of the past or future, and with no analysis. We just rest in the present moment of awareness, fresh and uncontrived, without being self-conscious about what we are doing. In other words, even if a thought arises, we do not follow it out.

Verbal thoughts simultaneously arise, abide, and cease. When we focus on that happening, we reach the "space in between verbal thoughts," which is the situation in which we can recognize the alaya for habits.

The meditation method, however, is not simply to stop verbally thinking by applying restraint or discipline. The simultaneous arising, abiding, and ceasing of moments of verbal thinking occur automatically. No effort is required to make that happen. Nevertheless, we need effort to recognize it and to stay focused on it with understanding. Otherwise, with mental wandering, we follow out thoughts, or with mental dullness, we fall into a daze and understand nothing.

The Need for Madhaymaka Analytical Meditation as a Preliminary

We do not gain understanding through an analytical process during the meditation. Dzogchen meditation is without analysis. To be able to focus, with understanding, on the simultaneous arising, abiding, and ceasing of moments of verbal thinking, the great

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Nyingma masters Mipam and the Third Dodrubchen explained instead that we need beforehand to have gained certainty of the voidness of true existence. We do this through the analytical method known as "searching for the hidden flaw of mind" (sems-kyi mtshang btsal-ba). We analyze:

where a moment of verbal thinking comes from - its origin, the situation of verbal thinking itself - how a moment of verbal thinking abides

or remains, where a moment of verbal thinking ceases (disappears to) - where it dissolves or

goes to.

Searching for the hidden flaw of mind resembles the Madhaymaka analytical process with which we analyze an event from the point of view of its cause, the event itself, and its effects. Only when we understand that moments of verbal thinking lack a truly existent arising, abiding, and ceasing are we able to recognize and experience, with understanding, the simultaneity of the three.

Moreover, we need also to understand beforehand the total absence (voidness) of an unaffected, monolithic, separate "me" as a boss making the arising, abiding, and ceasing of moments of verbal thinking happen, or observing them happen. This understanding enables us to recognize and experience, with understanding, that the simultaneous arising, abiding, and ceasing of moments of verbal thinking happen automatically, without any effort. To gain this understanding also requires Madhyamaka training.

With these understandings as additional preliminaries to

the six outer and six inner preliminaries, enormous strengthening of our enlightenment-building networks of positive

force and deep awareness (collections of merit and wisdom), empowerment, the keeping of vows, and inspiration from our spiritual mentors,

we are then ready to try to recognize the cognitive space in between moments of verbal thinking.

[See: The Major Facets of Dzogchen.]

We meditate on progressively subtler levels. These include focus on the simultaneous arising, abiding, and ceasing (disappearing) of

1. moments of verbal thinking,2. mental images,3. feelings of happiness, unhappiness, or neutral feelings,4. attitudes, such as hope, expectation, disappointment, and boredom,5. the nonverbalized conceptual construct of the blankness we perceive as being a

truly existent "this" or "that." This conceptual construct is a "feeling" of true existence.

Being Helped by Our Dzogchen Masters to Recognize Rigpa

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As the above meditation methods may still not enable us to recognize the alaya for habits, let alone rigpa, we need further help. Our dzogchen masters may help us to recognize it by introducing us directly (ngo-sprod).

There are two major methods for introducing us to rigpa:

1. without relying on key points (gnad) - namely, simply through the outer circumstance of inspiration from the dzogchen master and the inner circumstance of basis rigpa as Buddha-nature,

2. in addition to these outer and inner circumstances, relying on one of six key points that use a method that fits the disciple's meditation practice:

a. holding the mind's attention,b. having the mind be at rest, i.e. remaining stable in its own place,c. getting to the root of the matter,d. getting rid of a sense of substantiality, so that after having made a thorough

examination, mind no longer follows out an object (like a thought) and then has nowhere to go,

e. using the interval between awareness and its objects,f. causing distraction, such as by shouting "phat."

The sixth method is the most common. When distracted or startled, we stop thinking.

In most cases, we do not recognize rigpa at this stage, but merely the alaya for habits. We recognize it in between moments of verbal thinking, as the cognitive space giving rise not only to moments of verbal thinking and imagining, but also to the milliseconds of seeing colors and shapes and hearing the sounds of consonants and vowels. It is calm, steady, does not follow out objects, and does not mentally label anything as "this" or "that." Nevertheless, the alaya for habits is still sem (limited awareness) and, as such, it has a dumbfounded or bedazzled factor of not knowing its own face.

Recognizing Effulgent Rigpa

We must be careful not to confuse and take the realization of the alaya for habits to be the realization of rigpa. Further, we need to be careful not to confuse and take to be the realization of rigpa a decisive awareness (nges-shes) of either the conventional nature (the mere producing and perceiving of cognitive appearances) or the deepest nature (voidness) of the alaya for habits. To do so would be confusing dzogchen meditation with Gelug/Kagyu mahamudra.

We need to go deeper and subtler, so that we experience and recognize a cognitive inbetween space that has deep awareness of its own two-truth nature. If we succeed, the factor of dumbfoundedness stops accompanying our meditation and the alaya for habits becomes rigpa. Because of having "greased" the pathways of our energy-channels with previous anuyoga practice and synchronized the winds with mantra recitation, then in the process of this meditation, all grosser levels of mental activity - and specifically the alaya for habits - automatically dissolve.

We do this by recognizing effulgent rigpa. This is rigpa in its aspect of actively giving rise to cognitive appearances and actively cognizing them, with the former more

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prominent. We focus now on the simultaneous arising, abiding, and ceasing of the milliseconds of seeing and hearing the cognitive appearances of what are not truly existent as "this"s and "that"s, which the alaya for habits gives rise to. When we recognize effulgent rigpa, we access the simultaneously arising, abiding, and ceasing of milliseconds of pure appearances of the state beyond the periscope field of perception of limited awareness.

Recognizing Essence Rigpa: The Stages of Break-Through and Leap-Ahead

After recognizing effulgent rigpa and being able to stay focused with it, we recognize essence rigpa. This is rigpa in its aspect of being the open space (klong) or cognitive sphere (dbyings) that allows for the arising of appearances and the cognizing of them, with the latter more prominent. When we recognize and stay focused with this, we attain break-through (thregs-chod), the path of seeing (mthong-lam).

Then, as the result of practice with Buddha-figures in mahayoga, effulgent rigpa gives rise to and cognizes itself as a rainbow body (' ja'-lus), rather than with ordinary aggregates. Thus, on the leap-ahead stage (thod-rgal) - equivalent to the path of accustoming (sgom-lam, path of meditation) - through four stages, effulgent rigpa becomes more prominent while simultaneously maintaining prominent essence rigpa.

Primordial Mindfulness

When we access rigpa, we access its simultaneously arising innate quality of primordial mindfulness of having dropped down to the natural state (rang-babs gnyug-ma'i dran-pa), also called deep mindfulness from having dropped down (ye-babs-kyi dran-pa). The attention automatically holds on to or maintains itself in rigpa. Consequently, dzogchen meditation on rigpa is called effortless meditation, non-meditation, or non-deliberate meditation.

This does not mean that before we access rigpa and thus attain the path of seeing, we meditate without mindfulness. Meditating with sem and without any mindfulness, we experience mental flightiness (rgod-pa, mental agitation) and mental dullness (bying-ba). When practicing dzogchen, it is crucial to apply specific instructions only to the level of meditation and behavior for which they are intended.

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