{{about|the primordial state in Tibetan Buddhism and Bön|the monastery|Dzogchen Monastery}}
{{Tibetan-Chinese-box|t=རྫོགས་ཆེན་|w=rdzogs chen
(rdzogs pa chen po)|ipa={{IPA2|tsɔktɕʰẽ|}}|z=Zogqên|thdl=Dzokchen|e=Dzogchen|tc=大究竟、
大圓滿、
大成就|s=大究竟、
大圆满、
大成就|p=dàjiūjìng,
dàyuánmǎn,
dàchéngjiù|}}
According to some schools of Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India...
and BönBön is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the Bön tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of...
, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into...
school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to Dzogchen literature, Dzogchen is the highest and most definitive path to enlightenment. The MadhyamakaMadhyamaka is a Buddhist Mahāyāna tradition systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Nikayas...
teachings on emptinessŚūnyatā, शून्यता , Suññatā , stong pa nyid , Kòng/Kū, 空 , Gong-seong, 공성 , qoɣusun meaning "Emptiness" or "Voidness", is a characteristic of phenomena arising from the fact that the impermanent...
are fundamental to and thoroughly compatible with Dzogchen practices.
Our ultimate nature is said to be pure, all-encompassing, primordial awareness or naturally occurring timeless awareness. This "intrinsic awareness" has no form of its own and yet is capable of perceivingIn philosophy, psychology, and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. It is a task far more complex than was imagined in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was predicted that building perceiving machines would take about a decade,...
, experiencing, reflecting, or expressing all form. It does so without being affected by those forms in any ultimate, permanent way. The analogy given by Dzogchen masters is that one's nature is like a mirror which reflects with complete openness but is not affected by the reflections, or like a crystal ballA crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone. A body of water, either in a container or on the ground, used for this purpose, is called a scrying pool.-History:...
that takes on the colour of the material on which it is placed without itself being changed. Other evocative phrases used by masters{{Who|date=February 2009}} describe it as an "effulgence", an "all-pervading fullness" or as "space that is aware". When an individual is able to maintain the dzogchen state continually, he or she no longer experiences dukkhaDukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress,...
, or feelings of discontent, tension and anxiety in everyday life. (Compare with nirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
).
{{Tibetan Buddhism}}
Nomenclature, orthography and etymology
The word Dzogchen has been translated variously as Great Perfection, Great Completeness, Total Completeness, and Supercompleteness. These terms also convey the idea that our nature as intrinsic awareness has many qualities that make it perfect. These include indestructibility, incorruptible purity, non-discriminating openness, flawless clarity, profound simplicity, all-pervading presence and equality within all beings (i.e., the quality, quantity and functionality of this awareness is exactly the same in every being in the UniverseThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
). It is said that the impressive personal qualities of the fully-enlightened BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
derived from the fact that he was fully aligned with this already-existing primordial nature. Descriptions of a buddha as omniscient and omnipresent refer to their ultimate nature as this awareness. The Tibetan term dzogchen is a sometimes said to be a rendering of the Sanskrit term mahāsandhi, and is also used to render the Sanskrit term ati yoga (primordial yoga).
A homonymous term dzogchen designates a meditationMeditation is used here as a broad term for practices done by a sole practitioner without much, if any, external aide, often for the purpose of self-transformation...
practice and body of teachings aimed at helping an individual to recognize the Dzogchen state, to become sure about it, and to develop the capacity to maintain the state continually.
Pettit (1999: p. 4) identifies the various contextual usages and implications of the term "Dzogchen" (Wylie: rdzogs chen) that are often conflated and mentions agamaIn Buddhism, an gama is a collection of Early Buddhist scriptures, of which there are four, which together comprise the Sutra Pitika of the Sanskritic early schools...
, siddhantaSiddhanta, a Sanskrit term, roughly translates as the Doctrine or the Tradition. It denotes the established and accepted view of a particular school within Indian philosophy.-Hindu philosophy:...
and darśana:
"Great Perfection" variously indicates the texts (āgama, lung) and oral instructions (upadeśa, man ngag) that indicate the nature of enlightened wisdom (rdzogs chen gyi gzhung dang man ngag), the verbal conventions of those texts (rdzogs chen gyi chos skad), the yogis who meditate according to those texts and instructions (rdzogs chen gyi rnal 'byor pa), a famous monastery where the Great Perfection was practiced by monks and yogis (rdzogs chen dgon sde), and the philosophical system (siddhānta, grub mtha') or vision (darśana, lta ba) of the Great Perfection."
Maha Ati
Maha Ati is a term coined by Trungpa Rinpoche{{Fact|date=June 2008}}, a master of the KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
and NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into...
lineages of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He generally preferred to introduce Sanskrit rather than Tibetan terms to his students, and felt "Maha Ati" was the closest equivalent for "Dzogpa Chenpo," although he acknowledged it was an unorthodox choice.
Transmission
The Dzogchen teachings are the highest of the nine yanaYāna refers to a mode or method of spiritual practice in Buddhism, and in particular to divisions of various schools of Buddhism according to their type of practice.-Nomenclature, etymology and orthography:...
, (Tibetan theg pa, vehicle) of the Nyingma (Wylie: rnying ma) school of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan Bön (Wylie: bon) tradition. Many lamas, particularly of the NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into...
and KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
schools, regard them as the most profound teachings altogether.
The instructions that point to the Dzogchen state are sometimes described as a set of "inner" or "heart" (Wylie: snying thig) teachings. Practicing Tibetan Buddhists{{Who|date=December 2007}} consider that the state pointed to by these teachings is very difficult to describe, and can only be discovered through its transmission by an authentic VajraVajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle. The period of Vajrayana Buddhism has been classified as the fifth or final period of Indian Buddhism...
Master.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} One Dzogchen teacher, Namkhai NorbuChögyal Namkhai Norbu is a Dzogchen teacher who was born in Derge, Kham district on 8 December 1938. When he was two years old, Namkhai Norbu was recognized as the 'mindstream emanation', a tulku, of the great Dzogchen teacher, Adzom Drugpa , at five he was also recognized as a mindstream...
RinpocheRinpoche or Rimpoche is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism. It literally means "precious one".Guru Rinpoche refers to Padmasambhava, the "Second Buddha", who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet...
, has offered transmission via webcast.
Some teachers also regard Dzogchen as a teaching completely in its own right, independent of Buddhism or Bön. Namkhai Norbu says that, as our primordial nature, Dzogchen has existed since the beginning of time and is pointed to by various masters throughout the universe.
Background
According to one tradition, the first master of the Buddhist Dzogchen lineage in our world was Garab DorjePrahevajra or Pramodavajra was the semi-historical first human teacher of the Ati Yoga or Great Perfection teachings according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition...
(Wylie: dga' rab rdo rje, Sanskrit *prahevajra) from Uddiyana (Wylie:. o rgyan).
Indian originators
From Garab Dorje, Dzogchen is said to have been passed down as listed following. Often, practitioners are said to have lived for hundreds of years, and there are inconsistencies in the lifespan dates given, making it impossible to construct a sensible timeline.
- Prahevajra (Tib. Garab Dorje, Wylie: dga' rab rdo rje) 184 BCE to 57 CE
- Mañjuśrīmitra
Mañjuśrīmitra was an Indian Buddhist scholar, the main student of Garab Dorje and a teacher of Dzogchen.-Nomenclature and etymology:Mañjuśrī-mitra was his ordination-name -- before ordination he was named "Siddhi-garbha" and "Samvara-garbha"; and his mother's name was Kuhanā.-Birth and early...
(Tib. Jampal Shenyen, Wylie: 'jam dpal bshes gnyen) 2nd century BCE (elder contemporary of Prahevajra)
-
{{about|the primordial state in Tibetan Buddhism and Bön|the monastery|Dzogchen Monastery}}
{{Tibetan-Chinese-box|t=རྫོགས་ཆེན་|w=rdzogs chen
(rdzogs pa chen po)|ipa={{IPA2|tsɔktɕʰẽ|}}|z=Zogqên|thdl=Dzokchen|e=Dzogchen|tc=大究竟、
大圓滿、
大成就|s=大究竟、
大圆满、
大成就|p=dàjiūjìng,
dàyuánmǎn,
dàchéngjiù|}}
According to some schools of Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India...
and BönBön is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the Bön tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of...
, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into...
school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to Dzogchen literature, Dzogchen is the highest and most definitive path to enlightenment. The MadhyamakaMadhyamaka is a Buddhist Mahāyāna tradition systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Nikayas...
teachings on emptinessŚūnyatā, शून्यता , Suññatā , stong pa nyid , Kòng/Kū, 空 , Gong-seong, 공성 , qoɣusun meaning "Emptiness" or "Voidness", is a characteristic of phenomena arising from the fact that the impermanent...
are fundamental to and thoroughly compatible with Dzogchen practices.
Our ultimate nature is said to be pure, all-encompassing, primordial awareness or naturally occurring timeless awareness. This "intrinsic awareness" has no form of its own and yet is capable of perceivingIn philosophy, psychology, and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. It is a task far more complex than was imagined in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was predicted that building perceiving machines would take about a decade,...
, experiencing, reflecting, or expressing all form. It does so without being affected by those forms in any ultimate, permanent way. The analogy given by Dzogchen masters is that one's nature is like a mirror which reflects with complete openness but is not affected by the reflections, or like a crystal ballA crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone. A body of water, either in a container or on the ground, used for this purpose, is called a scrying pool.-History:...
that takes on the colour of the material on which it is placed without itself being changed. Other evocative phrases used by masters{{Who|date=February 2009}} describe it as an "effulgence", an "all-pervading fullness" or as "space that is aware". When an individual is able to maintain the dzogchen state continually, he or she no longer experiences dukkhaDukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress,...
, or feelings of discontent, tension and anxiety in everyday life. (Compare with nirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
).
{{Tibetan Buddhism}}
Nomenclature, orthography and etymology
The word Dzogchen has been translated variously as Great Perfection, Great Completeness, Total Completeness, and Supercompleteness. These terms also convey the idea that our nature as intrinsic awareness has many qualities that make it perfect. These include indestructibility, incorruptible purity, non-discriminating openness, flawless clarity, profound simplicity, all-pervading presence and equality within all beings (i.e., the quality, quantity and functionality of this awareness is exactly the same in every being in the UniverseThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
). It is said that the impressive personal qualities of the fully-enlightened BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
derived from the fact that he was fully aligned with this already-existing primordial nature. Descriptions of a buddha as omniscient and omnipresent refer to their ultimate nature as this awareness. The Tibetan term dzogchen is a sometimes said to be a rendering of the Sanskrit term mahāsandhi, and is also used to render the Sanskrit term ati yoga (primordial yoga).
A homonymous term dzogchen designates a meditationMeditation is used here as a broad term for practices done by a sole practitioner without much, if any, external aide, often for the purpose of self-transformation...
practice and body of teachings aimed at helping an individual to recognize the Dzogchen state, to become sure about it, and to develop the capacity to maintain the state continually.
Pettit (1999: p. 4) identifies the various contextual usages and implications of the term "Dzogchen" (Wylie: rdzogs chen) that are often conflated and mentions agamaIn Buddhism, an gama is a collection of Early Buddhist scriptures, of which there are four, which together comprise the Sutra Pitika of the Sanskritic early schools...
, siddhantaSiddhanta, a Sanskrit term, roughly translates as the Doctrine or the Tradition. It denotes the established and accepted view of a particular school within Indian philosophy.-Hindu philosophy:...
and darśana:
"Great Perfection" variously indicates the texts (āgama, lung) and oral instructions (upadeśa, man ngag) that indicate the nature of enlightened wisdom (rdzogs chen gyi gzhung dang man ngag), the verbal conventions of those texts (rdzogs chen gyi chos skad), the yogis who meditate according to those texts and instructions (rdzogs chen gyi rnal 'byor pa), a famous monastery where the Great Perfection was practiced by monks and yogis (rdzogs chen dgon sde), and the philosophical system (siddhānta, grub mtha') or vision (darśana, lta ba) of the Great Perfection."
Maha Ati
Maha Ati is a term coined by Trungpa Rinpoche{{Fact|date=June 2008}}, a master of the KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
and NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into...
lineages of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He generally preferred to introduce Sanskrit rather than Tibetan terms to his students, and felt "Maha Ati" was the closest equivalent for "Dzogpa Chenpo," although he acknowledged it was an unorthodox choice.
Transmission
The Dzogchen teachings are the highest of the nine yanaYāna refers to a mode or method of spiritual practice in Buddhism, and in particular to divisions of various schools of Buddhism according to their type of practice.-Nomenclature, etymology and orthography:...
, (Tibetan theg pa, vehicle) of the Nyingma (Wylie: rnying ma) school of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan Bön (Wylie: bon) tradition. Many lamas, particularly of the NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into...
and KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
schools, regard them as the most profound teachings altogether.
The instructions that point to the Dzogchen state are sometimes described as a set of "inner" or "heart" (Wylie: snying thig) teachings. Practicing Tibetan Buddhists{{Who|date=December 2007}} consider that the state pointed to by these teachings is very difficult to describe, and can only be discovered through its transmission by an authentic VajraVajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle. The period of Vajrayana Buddhism has been classified as the fifth or final period of Indian Buddhism...
Master.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} One Dzogchen teacher, Namkhai NorbuChögyal Namkhai Norbu is a Dzogchen teacher who was born in Derge, Kham district on 8 December 1938. When he was two years old, Namkhai Norbu was recognized as the 'mindstream emanation', a tulku, of the great Dzogchen teacher, Adzom Drugpa , at five he was also recognized as a mindstream...
RinpocheRinpoche or Rimpoche is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism. It literally means "precious one".Guru Rinpoche refers to Padmasambhava, the "Second Buddha", who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet...
, has offered transmission via webcast.
Some teachers also regard Dzogchen as a teaching completely in its own right, independent of Buddhism or Bön. Namkhai Norbu says that, as our primordial nature, Dzogchen has existed since the beginning of time and is pointed to by various masters throughout the universe.
Background
According to one tradition, the first master of the Buddhist Dzogchen lineage in our world was Garab DorjePrahevajra or Pramodavajra was the semi-historical first human teacher of the Ati Yoga or Great Perfection teachings according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition...
(Wylie: dga' rab rdo rje, Sanskrit *prahevajra) from Uddiyana (Wylie:. o rgyan).
Indian originators
From Garab Dorje, Dzogchen is said to have been passed down as listed following. Often, practitioners are said to have lived for hundreds of years, and there are inconsistencies in the lifespan dates given, making it impossible to construct a sensible timeline.
- Prahevajra (Tib. Garab Dorje, Wylie: dga' rab rdo rje) 184 BCE to 57 CE
- Mañjuśrīmitra
Mañjuśrīmitra was an Indian Buddhist scholar, the main student of Garab Dorje and a teacher of Dzogchen.-Nomenclature and etymology:Mañjuśrī-mitra was his ordination-name -- before ordination he was named "Siddhi-garbha" and "Samvara-garbha"; and his mother's name was Kuhanā.-Birth and early...
(Tib. Jampal Shenyen, Wylie: 'jam dpal bshes gnyen) 2nd century BCE (elder contemporary of Prahevajra)
- {{IAST
Shri Singha was a principal disciple and dharma-son of Manjushrimitra in the Dzogchen lineage.Vajranatha contextualises Sri Singha in relation to the Nyingma, Manjushrimitra, Tantra, Brahman, Garab Dorje, Uddiyana, Vimalamitra, Samye and Yogachara:According to the Nyingmapa tradition of Tibetan...
(Tib. Palgyi Senge, Wylie: dpal gyi senge) 3rd century CE (500 years before Vimalamitra)
- Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava , The Lotus Born, was an Indian sage Guru and is said to have transmitted Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet in the 8th century. In those lands he is better known as Guru Rinpoche or Lopon Rinpoche, where followers of the Nyingma school regard him as the second Buddha...
(Tib. Pema Jungne or Guru Rinpoche) fl. mid-8th CE
- Vimalamitra
Vimalamitra , an 8th century Indian adept, is key to the history of Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen practice. He lived equally in China, Oddiyana and Tibet, but was known as the "Sage of Kashmir". According to tradition, he was born in Western India and travelled to China to become a disciple of Shri...
(Tib. Drime Shenyen, Wylie: dri med bshes gnyen) fl. late 8th CE
- Vairotsana
This article is about the Tibetan translator. For the primordial Buddha Vairocana, please see VairocanaVairotsana of 'Pagor' was a Tibetan translator living during the reign of King Trisong Detsen...
(Tib. Nampar Nangdze Lotsawa, Wylie: rnam par snang mdzad lo tsa ba ) fl. late 8th CE
In Tibet
Padmasambhava (Tib. Pema Jugne or Guru Rinpoche, Wylie: padma 'byung gnas, gu ru rin po che) is considered the source of the Buddhist Dzogchen teachings in Tibet (Tib. bod), which are the heart of the Nyingma (Wylie: rnying ma) tradition, with which they are primarily associated. Dzogchen has also been practiced in the KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
(Wylie: bka' brgyud) lineage, beginning with MilarepaJetsun Milarepa , is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism....
(Wylie: mi la ras pa) and most notably by the Third KarmapaThe Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
, Rangjung DorjeRangjung Dorje was the third Karmapa, an important figure in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. He reportedly produced a spontaneous black crown at the age of three and declared himself to be the mindstream reimbodiment of Karma Pakshi...
(Wylie:. rang byung rdo rje). The FifthNgawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama , was a political and religious leader in seventeenth-century Tibet. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso was the ordination name he had received from Panchen Lozang Chökyi Gyeltsen who was responsible for his ordination...
, ThirteenthThubten Gyatso was the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet.During 1878 he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. He was escorted to Lhasa and given his pre-novice vows by the Panchen Lama, Tenpai Wangchuk, and named "Ngawang Lobsang Thupten Gyatso Jigdral Chokley Namgyal"...
, and Fourteenth (present) Dalai LamaThe Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious officials of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. "Lama" is a general term referring to Tibetan Buddhist teachers...
s (Wylie: ta la'i bla ma) are also noted Dzogchen masters, although their adoption of the practice of Dzogchen has been a source of controversy among more conservative members of the GelugThe Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
(Wylie: dge lugs) tradition.
In the Bön religion, three separate Dzogchen traditions are attested and continue to be practiced: A-tri (Wylie: a khrid), Dzogchen (Wylie: rdzogs chen, here referring narrowly to the specific lineage within the Bön tradition), and Shang Shung Nyen Gyu (Wylie: zhang zhung snyan rgyud). All are traced back to the founder of Bön, Tonpa Shenrab MiwocheTönpa Shenrab or Shenrab Miwo —also called Buddha Shenrab, Guru Shenrab, Tönpa Shenrab Miwoche, Lord Shenrab Miwo, and known by a number of other titles—is the founder of the Bön religious tradition of Tibet.-Shenrab's life according to Bön traditions:According to Bön tradition, Tönpa Shenrab...
(Wylie: ston pa gshen rab mi bo che).
Concepts
The essence of the Dzogchen teaching is the direct transmission of knowledge from master to disciple. Garab DorjePrahevajra or Pramodavajra was the semi-historical first human teacher of the Ati Yoga or Great Perfection teachings according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition...
epitomized the Dzogchen teaching in three principles, known as the Three Statements of Garab Dorje:
- Direct introduction to one's own nature (Tib. ngo rang thog tu sprod pa)
- Not remaining in doubt concerning this unique state (Tib. thag gcig thog tu bcad pa)
- Continuing to remain in this state (Tib. gdeng grol thog tu bca' pa)
In accordance with these three statements, Garab Dorje's direct disciple Manjushrimitra (Tib. jam dpal bshes gnyen) classified all the Dzogchen teachings transmitted by his master into three series:
- Semde
Semde translated as "mind division", "mind series" or "mind school" is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga, Dzogchen or the Great Perfection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan...
(Wylie:
sems sde; Skt: cittavarga), the series of Mind, that focuses on the introduction to one's own primordial state;
- Longde
Longde is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Atiyoga, also known as Dzogchen or the Great Perfection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.The name Longde is translated as 'Space Division' or 'Space...
(Wylie: klong sde; Skt: abhyantaravarga), the series of Space, that focuses on developing the capacity to gain familiarity with the state and remove doubts; and
- Men-ngak
Menngagde , , translated as "Secret oral instruction division", "Secret oral instruction series," "Secret oral school", or "Quintessential Instructions Series", or "The Category of Direct Transmission", is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga Menngagde (Wylie:...
(Wylie: man ngag sde, Skt: upadeshavarga), the series of secret Oral Instructions, focusing on the practices in which one engages after gaining confidence in knowledge of the state.
The Dzogchen teachings focus on three terms: View, Meditation, and Action. To see directly the absolute state of our mind is the View; the way of stabilizing that View and making it an unbroken experience is Meditation; and integrating that View into our daily life is what is meant by Action.
Dzogchen is one of several approaches to nondualismNondualism implies that things appear distinct while not being separate. The word's origin is the Latin duo meaning "two" and is used as the English translation of the Sanskrit term advaita...
.
This open awareness of Dzogchen, or rigpaRigpa is the primordial, nondual awareness advocated by the Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings.-Apperception:Rigpa is a contraction of "rang rig pa" which includes both "rig pa" and "rang rig"....
(also comparable to the Buddha nature), is said to lie at the heart of all things and indeed of all Dzogchen practice and is nothing less than "... primordial wisdom's recognition of itself as unbounded wholeness .... the incorruptible mindnature." . This reflexive awareness of Enlightenment is said to be inherent within all beings, but not to be attainable by thought Klein and Wangyal comment:
" ... cause and effect, sentient beings and Buddhas, subjects and objects, path and goal are ultimately revealed to be of one taste: movement from one to the other is no movement at all, really, but a dynamic stillness."
There can be found within Dzogchen a sense of Reality as limitless wholeness, a multiplicity which is yet all of one 'taste', which is a borderless wholeness. According to Lopon Tenzin Namdak, it is unconditioned and permanent, changeless, not originated from causes and conditions, blissful, and the base or support of numerous exalted qualities.. 'It is at once base, path, and fruit' . 'That reality, unbounded wholeness, is naturally complete.' Also: '... the essence and base of self-arisen wisdom is the allbase, that primordial open awareness is the base, and that recognition of this base is not separate from the primordial wisdom itself. ... that open awareness is itself authentic and its authenticity is a function of it being aware of, or recognizing itself as, the base. ... The reflexively self-aware primordial wisdom is itself open awareness (rigpa),inalienably one with unbounded wholeness.'
Opposing views
The views of the Dzogchen school are not endorsed by all Tibetan Buddhists. In fact, Bonpo Lopon Tenzin NamdakLopön Tenzin Namdak is Bön religious leader.-Birth, family & early education:Lopön Tenzin Namdak born in Khyungpo Karu in Kham province of Eastern Tibet to a family of famous artists. In 1933, at the age of seven he entered Tingchen Monastery in the same district...
contrasts his own view that primordial wisdom does not arise from causes with that of Tsongkhapa, who states that without consciousness, there is no understanding. Some critics claim that the views of the Dzogchen school of philosophy conflict with those of MadhyamakaMadhyamaka is a Buddhist Mahāyāna tradition systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Nikayas...
and to the views of other prominent Buddhist thinkers such as the logician DharmakirtiDharmakirti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary Buddhist atoms and states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn...
. However, LongchenpaLongchenpa or Longchen Rabjampa was a major teacher in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Along with Sakya Pandita and Je Tsongkhapa, he is commonly recognized as one of the three main manifestations of Manjushri to have taught in Central Tibet...
and Mipham argue that the views of the Dzogchen school are in fact in accord with the view of Madhyamaka.{{Clarify me|date=February 2009}} Dzogchen meditative techniques are, however, consistent with Madhyamaka.
Three aspects of energy
Sentient beings have their energy manifested in 3 aspects:
- 'dang' (Wylie: gDangs)
- 'rolpa' (Wylie: Rol-pa)
- 'tsal' (Wylie: rTsal)
Energy of an individual on the dang level is essentially infinite and formless.
In the form of rolpa, energy forms appear as though seen with 'the eye of the mind'.
Many practices of thödgal and yangthig work on the basis of functioning of the rolpa aspect
of individual's energy. It is also the original source of the sambhogakayaThe Sambhogakāya is the second mode or aspect of the Trikaya. Sambhogakaya has also been translated as the "deity dimension", "body of bliss" or "astral body". Sambhogakaya refers to the luminous form of clear light the Buddhist practitioner attains upon the reaching the highest dimensions of...
deities visualized in Buddhist tantricTantra , or tantram is a religious philosophy according to which Shakti is usually the main deity worshipped, and the universe is regarded as the divine play of Shakti and Shiva...
transformational practices and of manifestations of one hundred peaceful and wrathful deities in bardoThe Tibetan word Bardo means literally "intermediate state" - also translated as "transitional state" or "in-between state" or "liminal state". In Sanskrit the concept has the name antarabhāva....
.
Tsal is the manifestation of the energy of the individual him or herself, as apparently an 'external' world. The mind of a sentient being is also tsal energy when it is 'contaminated' by the karmic 'winds' (Tibetan: rlungLung is a word that means wind or breath. It is a key concept in the Vajrayana traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and as such is part of the symbolic 'twilight language', used to non-conceptually point to a variety of meanings. Lung is a concept that's particularly important to understandings of the...
).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Certain practices stop the karmic winds of the body and therefore allow the energy of tsal to be experienced by itself.
The interplay of these energies explain the 'thoughtformA thoughtform is a manifestation of mental energy, also known as a 'tulpa' in Tibetan mysticism. The thoughtform is also one of the expressed means of Samyama...
' or 'tulpaTulpa is a Vajrayana, Bonpo and Tibetan Buddhist upaya concept, discipline and teaching tool. The term was first rendered into English as 'Thoughtform' by Evans-Wentz :...
' (Tibetan: sprul pa) phenomenon, the logistics of the TrikayaThe Trikaya doctrine is an important Buddhist teaching both on the nature of reality, and what a Buddha is. By the 4th century CE the Trikaya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...
doctrine, the yidamIn Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as tutelary deity, meditation deity, or meditational deity...
sadhanaSādhanā , is a term for "a means of accomplishing something" or more specifically "spiritual practice". It includes a variety of disciplines from Hindu and Buddhist traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives. The word is also used in the same...
, bardoThe Tibetan word Bardo means literally "intermediate state" - also translated as "transitional state" or "in-between state" or "liminal state". In Sanskrit the concept has the name antarabhāva....
visions, Clear LightÖsel , the Yoga of the Clear Light Ösel (tib. hod-gsal; 'od gsal), the Yoga of the Clear Light Ösel (tib. hod-gsal; 'od gsal), the Yoga of the Clear Light (often translated as 'Radiant Light' (Sanskrit: prabhasvara), referring to the 'intrinsic purity' (Tibetan:...
(Tibetan: 'od gsal), emergenceIn philosophy, systems theory and science, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems.-Definitions:...
and the logistics of the doctrine of Pratītyasamutpāda, they also explain the 'play' (Sanskrit: lilaLila , or Leela is a concept within Hinduism literally meaning "pastime", "sport" or "play". It is common to both non-dualistic and dualistic philosophical schools, but has a markedly different significance in each. Within non-dualism, Lila is a way of describing all reality, including the cosmos,...
; Tibetan: kun tu rtse) of the Five Pure LightsThe Five Pure Lights are a conceptual mystery in the Dzogchen tradition of Bön and Nyingma and are aspects of non-dual clarity and primordial luminosity of dharmakaya, Kunzhi and/or the Void. It is important to emphasize from the outset that their light-like essence-quality and their associated...
(Tibetan: 'od lnga) and the arising of a 'Creation' without a Creator deityA creator deity is a deity in a creation myth responsible for the creation of the world .In monotheism, the single God is necessarily also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...
or a Prime Cause that is the particular 'view' (Tibetan: lta ba) and hallmark of Buddhism.
External world versus continuum
According to Dzogchen teachings, energy of an individual is essentially totally formless and free from any dualityDuality may refer to:In philosophy, logic, and psychology:* Dualism, a twofold division in several spiritual, religious, and philosophical doctrines* Dualism , where the body and mind are considered to be irreducibly distinct...
. However, karmic tracesKarma means "action" or "doing"; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma.In Buddhism, the term karma is used specifically for those actions which spring from :...
, contained in the storehouse consciousness of the individual's mindstreamMindstream, mind stream, or mental stream is the English translation of a Buddhist philosophical term for the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness....
(Sanskrit: citta santana; Tibetan: sems rgyud) give rise to two kinds of forms:
- forms that the individual experiences as his or her body, voice and mind and
- forms that the individual experiences as an external environment.
It is maintained that there is nothing external or separate from the individual. What appears as a world of apparently external phenomena, is the energy of the individual himself/herself. Everything that manifests in the individual's field of experience is a continuumContinuum may refer to:* Continuum , anything that goes through a gradual transition from one condition, to a different condition, without any abrupt changes- Mathematics :...
(Sanskrit: santana; Tibetan: rgyud). This is the Great Perfection that is discovered in the Dzogchen practice.
Causality and interdependent origination
In Dzogchen teachings the interdependent origination and any kind of causalityCausality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is a direct consequence of the first....
is considered illusory: '(One says), "all these (configurations of events and meanings) come about and disappear according to dependent origination." But, like a burnt seed, since a nonexistent (result) does not come about from a nonexistent (cause), cause and effect do not exist.
Being obsessed with entities, one's experiencing itself [Wylie: sems, Sanskrit: citta], which discriminates each cause and effect, appears as if it were cause and condition.' (from byang chub sems bsgom pa by MañjusrîmitraMañjuśrīmitra was an Indian Buddhist scholar, the main student of Garab Dorje and a teacher of Dzogchen.-Nomenclature and etymology:Mañjuśrī-mitra was his ordination-name -- before ordination he was named "Siddhi-garbha" and "Samvara-garbha"; and his mother's name was Kuhanā.-Birth and early...
. Primordial experience. An Introduction to rDzogs-chen Meditation, pp. 60, 61)
This corresponds to the assertion in the Heart SutraThe Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra or Heart Sutra or Essence of Wisdom Sutra is a well-known Mahāyāna Buddhist sutra that is very popular among Mahayana Buddhists both for its brevity and depth of meaning...
(Sanskrit: Prajñāpāramitā Hridaya Sūtra), that there is no karma, no law of cause and effect. The assertion was made by bodhisattvaIn Buddhism, a bodhisattva means either "enlightened existence " or "enlightenment-being" or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." Another translation is...
Avalokiteshvara in a teaching for the great arhatArhat or arahant , in the sramanic traditions of ancient India , signified a spiritual practitioner who had to use an expression common in the tipitaka "laid down the burden", realising the goal of nirvana, the culmination of the spiritual life...
ShariputraŚāriputra or Sāriputta was one of two principal disciples of the Buddha. He became an Arhat renowned for his wisdom and is depicted in the Theravada tradition as one of the most important disciples of the Buddha.- Biography :...
, given before multitude of beings, on request of Buddha Shakyamuni. After the teaching Buddha Shakyamuni greatly praised the wisdom of Avalokiteshvara's words and the beings present rejoiced.
Guardians
All teachings have energies that have special relationships with them. These energies are guardians of the teachings. The energies are iconographically depicted as they were perceived by yogis who had contact with them. The dharmapalaIn Vajrayana Buddhism, a dharmapāla is a type of wrathful deity. The name means "Dharma-defender" in Sanskrit, and the dharmapālas are also known as the Defenders of the Law , or the Protectors of the Law, in English.In Vajrayana iconography and thangka depictions, dharmapālas are fearsome...
s most associated with Dzogchen are EkajatiEkajaṭī or Ekajaṭā, , also known as Māhacīna-tārā, one of the 21 Taras, is one of the most powerful and fierce goddesses of Indo-Tibetan mythology. According to Tibetan legends she is an acculturation of the Bön goddess of heaven, whose right eye was pierced by the tantric master Padmasambhava as...
in the Nyingma and Sidpa Gyalmo in the Bön tradition. The iconographic forms were shaped by perceptions and also by the culture of those who saw the original manifestation and by the development of the tradition. However the guardians are not merely symbols. The pictures show actual beings.
Well-being and health
Dzogchen teachings maintain that the quality of lives of people is best when the internal elementsMany philosophies and worldviews have used a set of archetypal classical elements, most developed sets of the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based...
are balanced. The body is healthy when the elements are balanced. They see the best way to balance the elements as abiding in the natural state.
Practice
In Dzogchen, self-liberation is achieved by discovering or recognizing one's own primordial mindstreamMindstream, mind stream, or mental stream is the English translation of a Buddhist philosophical term for the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness....
and remaining in that natural state of primordial awareness in which all phenomena are experienced without creating karmaKarma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies..'Karma' is an Eastern religious concept in contradistinction to...
through reaction, attachment, or conceptual labelling.
Chögyal Namkhai NorbuChögyal Namkhai Norbu is a Dzogchen teacher who was born in Derge, Kham district on 8 December 1938. When he was two years old, Namkhai Norbu was recognized as the 'mindstream emanation', a tulku, of the great Dzogchen teacher, Adzom Drugpa , at five he was also recognized as a mindstream...
RinpocheRinpoche or Rimpoche is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism. It literally means "precious one".Guru Rinpoche refers to Padmasambhava, the "Second Buddha", who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet...
and other teachers provide different practical sets of instructions (Sanskrit: sadhanaSādhanā , is a term for "a means of accomplishing something" or more specifically "spiritual practice". It includes a variety of disciplines from Hindu and Buddhist traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives. The word is also used in the same...
) for the practice of Dzogchen. The central practice of Dzogchen teaching is Dzogchen 'contemplation' (Tib. ting nge 'dzin) which is rendered in English as "The View". "The View" when stabilized or unbroken, is the nondual perception of the Dzogchenpa, or Dzogchen practitioner. That is, a continuous 'contemplation' through all activity, waking and sleeping as a lived experience. According to some Dzogchenpa (in particular, Namkhai Norbu), Dzogchen is a 'practice', rather than a 'doctrine' or 'religion', and does not require the practitioner (Sanskrit: sadhakaA sādhaka is someone who follows a particular sādhana, or a way of life designed to realize the goal of one's ultimate ideal, whether it is merging with Brahman or realization of one's personal deity. The word is related to the sanskrit sādhu, which is derived from the verb root sādh-, to accomplish...
) to be anywhere special; in fact, to be normally active while in a state of primordial or natural awareness is the ultimate practice of Dzogchen.
Silent and prolonged meditation (Tib. sgom pa) is also used to allow the obscurations (Sanskrit: kleśa) of the mind to dissipate like clouds dissolving to reveal the empty, luminous sky. Through meditation, it is possible to remove the conditioning of our bodymind (Sanskrit: namarupaNāmarūpa is a dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name and form ".Synonyms:*名色 Cn: míngsè; Jp: myōshiki; Vi: danh sắc*Tibetan: ming.gzugs-Nāmarūpa in Buddhism:...
) and to glimpse and work to stabilize our true nature (Tibetan: RigpaRigpa is the primordial, nondual awareness advocated by the Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings.-Apperception:Rigpa is a contraction of "rang rig pa" which includes both "rig pa" and "rang rig"....
; Sanskrit: vidyaVidya, Vidhya is a Sanskrit name for knowledge. It is frequently used in Hinduism as honorific stemming from the Puranic conception of knowledge and learning. Vidya is an epithet of the Hindu goddess Sarasvati, consort of Brahma according to Hindu beliefs...
).
The goal of Dzogchen practice is to remain in the clear, undeluded state of the nature of the bodymind, unconditioned by thoughts—which is not the same thing as not having any thoughts. At the beginning, a Dzogchen teacher introduces one directly (Tib. ngo sprod, introduce, point out) to the real nature of one's bodymind, even if only for a few seconds; being a Dzogchen practitioner thus implies that one must have a qualified Dzogchen teacher, one who has mastered the nature of the mindstream. Historically, Dzogchen teachers have been very selective in choosing initiates, but current lineage holders in the Nyingma and Bön traditions have made Dzogchen teachings available to a wider (Western) audience.
Sky gazing
In both the Bön and Buddhist Dzogchen traditions, sky gazingIn both the Bön and Buddhist Dzogchen traditions, sky gazing is considered to be an important practice. Detailed instructions on the practice are provided by the Nyingma teacher Tarthang Tulku.-References:...
is considered to be an important practice. Detailed instructions on the practice are provided by the Nyingma teacher Tarthang TulkuTarthang Tulku is a Tibetan teacher in the Nyingma tradition who lives in America, where he works to preserve the art and culture of Tibet. He oversees various projects including Dharma Publishing, Yeshe-De, Tibetan Aid Project, and the construction of the Odiyan Copper...
.
Tregchöd and thödgal
Once the state of non-dual contemplation has been arrived at, one has to continue in it. This continuation has two levels of practice: tregchödKadag Trekchö is a Dzogchen term and practice meaning "thorough cut" or "cutting through". 'Kadag' may be rendered as 'purity' and specifically "primordial purity"...
and thödgal. These are main practices presented in the MenngagdeMenngagde , , translated as "Secret oral instruction division", "Secret oral instruction series," "Secret oral school", or "Quintessential Instructions Series", or "The Category of Direct Transmission", is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga Menngagde (Wylie:...
series (Oral Instruction Series) of the dzogchen teachings.
Body of Light
When an advanced practitioner successfully completes practices of LongdeLongde is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Atiyoga, also known as Dzogchen or the Great Perfection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.The name Longde is translated as 'Space Division' or 'Space...
or MenngagdeMenngagde , , translated as "Secret oral instruction division", "Secret oral instruction series," "Secret oral school", or "Quintessential Instructions Series", or "The Category of Direct Transmission", is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga Menngagde (Wylie:...
, he or she realizes the Body of Light also known as rainbow bodyA rainbow body is a body not made of flesh, but consists of pure light, an astral body.-In Dzogchen:...
(WylieThe Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell Wylie, who described the scheme in an article A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription published in 1959...
'ja' lus, pronounced Jalü.) When such an individual dies, from the point of view of an external observer, the following happens: the corpse does not start to decompose, but starts to shrink until it disappears. Usually fingernails, toenails and hair are left behind (see e.g. Togden Urgyen Tendzin, Ayu KhandroAyu Khandro, formally Ayu Khandro Dorje Paldrön was a teacher of Dzogchen and Tantric Buddhism in East Tibet.She was a student of both Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Nyala Pema Dündul....
, Changchub Dorje.)
Some exceptional practitioners such as PadmasambhavaPadmasambhava , The Lotus Born, was an Indian sage Guru and is said to have transmitted Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet in the 8th century. In those lands he is better known as Guru Rinpoche or Lopon Rinpoche, where followers of the Nyingma school regard him as the second Buddha...
and VimalamitraVimalamitra , an 8th century Indian adept, is key to the history of Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen practice. He lived equally in China, Oddiyana and Tibet, but was known as the "Sage of Kashmir". According to tradition, he was born in Western India and travelled to China to become a disciple of Shri...
are held to have realized the Great Transferrence (WylieThe Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell Wylie, who described the scheme in an article A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription published in 1959...
'pho ba chen po, pronounced Phowa Chenpo). This is an advanced PhowaPhowa is a Tibetan term for a Buddhist meditation practice that may be translated as the "practice of conscious dying", "transference of consciousness at the time of death" or "mindstream transference". The method of mind-transference, or “enlightenment without meditation” Phowa (Wylie: 'pho ba;...
practice. The individual does not die at all, but his or her physical body gradually disappears for an external observer.
Dzogchenpa samaya: a practiceless practice of abiding or contemplation
Capriles (2003: p. 180) openly quotes Dzogchenpa Namkhai Norbu in the subtle but very important distinction of the activity of meditation from the effortless abiding of Dzogchen contemplation:
Chögyäl Namkhai Norbu relates that once someone asked the famous Dzogchen Master, Yungtön Dorje Pel, what his practice consisted of, and he replied with the negative “mepa” or “there isn’t.” Then his startled questioner asked again, “Then you don’t meditate?,” to which the Master replied, “And when am I ever distracted?” This is the essence of samaya in Dzogchen teaching: not to meditate or to practice something with the mind and yet never to be distracted, for one remains uninterruptedly in the self-perfection of the single state of rigpa or Truth.
In this denotation, dzogchen is a verb, and denotes the perfect process in the grammatical sense or alternately an infinitive verb, wherein the great continuum of 'one taste' (Wylie: ro gcig) or as Capriles renders it "single state" is the effortless 'contemplating' or abiding in the view of non-distraction from rigpaRigpa is the primordial, nondual awareness advocated by the Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings.-Apperception:Rigpa is a contraction of "rang rig pa" which includes both "rig pa" and "rang rig"....
.
Apperception
'ApperceptionApperception [from the Latin, ad-: to, toward, or to go near + percipere: to perceive, gain, secure, learn, or feel] is a term that can describe various aspects of perception and consciousness in such fields as psychology, philosophy and epistemology.-Meaning in psychology:In psychology,...
' (Sanskrit: svasaṃvedana/svasaṃvitti; Wylie: rang rig) is understood variously in different yanaYāna refers to a mode or method of spiritual practice in Buddhism, and in particular to divisions of various schools of Buddhism according to their type of practice.-Nomenclature, etymology and orthography:...
, buddhist schools, sadhanaSādhanā , is a term for "a means of accomplishing something" or more specifically "spiritual practice". It includes a variety of disciplines from Hindu and Buddhist traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives. The word is also used in the same...
and practice lineagesA lineage in Buddhism is a record of teachers and their disciples, or students. Several branches of Buddhism, including Zen and Tibetan Buddhism maintain records of their historical teachers who, according to the traditional history of that school, have passed the Dharma, or Buddhist teachings,...
. These cosmetic differences are resolved in the practice of 'meditative tranceTrance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term "trance" may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
' (Wylie: 'jog pa). For it is in the direct experience and associated literatures of the deep contemplative traditions of Himalayan Buddhism (Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India...
, NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese Buddhism, BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
ese Buddhism, etc) and Bon, particularly Dzogchen and Mahamudra, that apperception is key, eg. Dark retreatDark retreat refers to advanced practices in the Dzogchen lineages of the Nyingmapa, Bönpo and other schools of Tibetan Buddhism.The time period dedicated to dark retreat varies from a few hours to decades...
(Tibetan: mun mtshams).
'Apperception' (Sanskrit: svasaṃvedana/svasaṃvitti; Wylie: rang rig)
In the language of Zhangzhung, 'rang rig' (Wylie) is 'nges de shin' where 'shin' equates to 'shes pa'. The Zhangzhung lexical item 'shin' is found in many compounds (Martin, 2004: p. 158) where it contributes a semantic value drawn from this semantic fieldA semantic field is a set of lexemes in a named conceptual area that interrelate and define each other in specific ways. For example, the semantic field of "dog" includes "canine" and "to trail persistently" . A general and intuitive description is that words in a semantic field are not synonymous,...
: 'to know' and 'knowledge' to both nominal and verbal/process oriented lexical itemLexical items are single words or words that are grouped in a language's lexicon. Examples are "cat", "traffic light", "take care of", "by-the-way", and "don't count your chickens before they hatch". Lexical items are those which can be generally understood to convey a single meaning, much as a...
s.
Pettit (1999: p. 129) holds that 'apperception' (Wylie: rang rig) is key to Mipham's (1846–1912) system of epistemology and hermeneutics discussed in the DRG and in Mipham's Commentary to the Ninth Chapter of the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra.
PadmasambhavaPadmasambhava , The Lotus Born, was an Indian sage Guru and is said to have transmitted Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet in the 8th century. In those lands he is better known as Guru Rinpoche or Lopon Rinpoche, where followers of the Nyingma school regard him as the second Buddha...
, Karma LingpaKarma Lingpa , a great tertön, is embraced as a reincarnation of Chokro Luyi Gyaltsen , a great master.Karma Lingpa , is accepted as the revealer of the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead...
, Gyurme Dorje, Graham Coleman and Thupten Jinpa (2005: p. 480) define 'intrinsic awareness' which is a rendering of the Tibetan Wylie 'rang-rig' and the Sanskrit 'svasaṃvitti' or 'svasaṃvedana' according to the precedent established in Indian Buddhist epistemologyEpistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge...
and in the writings of the lauded logicians DignāgaDignāga was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic....
and DharmakīrtiDharmakirti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary Buddhist atoms and states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn...
that this technical:
...term
svasaṃvedana refers to the apperceptive or reflexive faculty of consciousness, for which reason it is sometimes rendered as 'reflexive awareness' or 'apperceptive awareness'. However, in the view of the Great Perfection (rdzog-pa chen-po) and in the context of the present work [The Tibetan Book of the Dead], the same term refers to the fundamental innate mind in its natural state of spontaneity and purity, beyond the alternating states of motion and rest and the subject-object dichotomy. It is therefore rendered here as 'intrinsic awareness'. As such, intrinsic awareness gives the meditator access to pristine cognition [ye-shes; jñāna Jñāna or gñāna is the Sanskrit term for knowledge or philosophy.In Buddhism, it refers to pure awareness that is free of conceptual encumbrances, and is contrasted with vijnana, which is a moment of 'divided knowing'....
] or the buddha-mind [thugs, cittaCitta was one of the chief lay disciples of the Buddha. He was a wealthy merchant from Savatthi. His life and character were so pure that near his death, had he wished to be a chakravartin, it would've been granted. However, he turned down this wish as it was temporal...
] itself, and it stands in direct contrast to fundamental ignorance ([ma-rig-pa,] avidyā), which is the primary cause of rebirth in cyclic existence (['khor-baSamsara is the endless cycle of suffering caused by birth, death and rebirth within Buddhism, Bön, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions....
,] samsara). The direct introduction to intrinsic awareness is a distinctive teaching within the Nyingma school.... This practice is a central component of the Esoteric Instruction Class ([man-ngag-gi sde,] upadeśa[varga]Menngagde , , translated as "Secret oral instruction division", "Secret oral instruction series," "Secret oral school", or "Quintessential Instructions Series", or "The Category of Direct Transmission", is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga Menngagde (Wylie:...
) of Atiyoga, where it is known as Cutting Through Resistance (Khregs-chodKadag Trekchö is a Dzogchen term and practice meaning "thorough cut" or "cutting through". 'Kadag' may be rendered as 'purity' and specifically "primordial purity"...
).
Williams, et. al. (2000, 2002: p. 264) conveys an epistemological commonality held by DharmakirtiDharmakirti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary Buddhist atoms and states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn...
and Śāntarakṣita which holds that all is sentient consciousnessConsciousness is subjective experience or awareness or wakefulness or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena...
:
There is also an epistemological argument found in thinkers like Dharmakirti and Santaraksita. How does consciousness know ‘external’ physical objects, when consciousness itself is of a completely different order from matter? Consciousness has a reflexive quality of knowing (svasamvedana), while matter has no such reflexivity. Clearly only things of the same basic order of reality can contact each other. Thus either all must be matter, or all must be consciousness. But if all were matter then there would be no experience at all. Since there patently is experience, all must be consciousness.
Texts
Dzogchen instructions are found in some MahayogaMahayoga is the designation of the first of the three Inner Tantras according to the ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism....
texts, as it may simply have been the associated completion stageThe completion stage is one of the two stages of Anuttarayoga Tantra. Completion stage may also be translated as perfection stage or fulfillment mode...
practice. However, the majority of the Dzogchen corpus comprises the "18" Semde tantra texts, the Longde tantras, and the Mennagde termas.
Reality vs dreams
{{cquote|The real sky is (knowing) that samsara and nirvana are merely an illusory display.|||Mipham Rinpoche|Quintessential Instructions of Mind, p. 117}}
According to contemporary teacher Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, in Dzogchen the perceived reality is considered to be unreal. All appearances perceived during the whole life of an individual through all senses, including sounds, smells, tastes and tactile sensations in their totality are like a big dreamDreams are a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is known as...
. It is claimed that on careful examination the dream of life and regular nightly dreams are not very different, and that in their essential nature there is no difference between them.
The non-essential difference between our dreaming state and our ordinary waking experience is that the latter is more concrete and linked with our attachment; the dreaming is slightly detached.
Also according to this teaching, there is a correspondence between the states of sleep and dream and our experiences when we die. After experiences of intermediate state of bardo an individual comes out of it, a new karmic illusion is created and another existence begins. This is how transmigrationTransmigration of the soul is similar and foreign in some ways to the philosophy of reincarnation. The idea of transmigration of the soul comes from the ancient Greeks...
happens.
One aim of dream practice is to realize during a dream that one is dreaming. One can then dream with lucidLucid is a dataflow programming language. It is designed to experiment with non-von Neumann programming models. It was designed by Bill Wadge and Ed Ashcroft and described in the book Lucid, the Dataflow Programming Language.-Model:...
ity and do all sorts of things, such as go to different places, talk to people, fly and so forth. It is also possible to do different yogic practices while dreaming (usually such yogic practices one does in waking state). In this way the yogi can have a very strong experience and with this comes understanding of the dream-like nature of daily life. This is very relevant to diminishing attachments, because they are based on strong beliefs that life's perceptions and objects are real and, as a consequence, important. If one really understands what Buddha Shakyamuni meant when he said that everything is unreal or of the nature of shunyataŚūnyatā, शून्यता , Suññatā , stong pa nyid , Kòng/Kū, 空 , Gong-seong, 공성 , qoɣusun meaning "Emptiness" or "Voidness", is a characteristic of phenomena arising from the fact that the impermanent...
, then one can diminish attachments and tensions.
The teacher gives advice, that the realization that the life is only a big dream can help us finally liberate ourselves from the chains of emotions, attachments, and ego and then we have the possibility of ultimately becoming enlightened.
{{see also|Lucid dreaming}}
Dzogchen monastery & Dzogchen Rinpoche
One of the traditional centers for the practice of Dzogchen is Dzogchen MonasteryDzogchen Monastery is one of the six great monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in Eastern Tibet in the Chinese province of Sichuan. It was founded by Dzogchen Pema Rigdzin in 1675, 1684 or 1685...
, headed by Dzogchen RinpocheDzogchen Rinpoche is the head lama of Dzogchen Monastery, one of the largest monasteries in eastern Tibet before the Chinese occupation which is now re-established in Kollegal, South India in 1992....
.
See also
- Dzogchen Rinpoche
Dzogchen Rinpoche is the head lama of Dzogchen Monastery, one of the largest monasteries in eastern Tibet before the Chinese occupation which is now re-established in Kollegal, South India in 1992....
- Ganachakra
A ganachakra is also known as tsog, ganapuja, chakrapuja or ganachakrapuja...
- Lukhang
Lukhang , formally Zongdag Lukhang is the name of a secret temple of His Holiness Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama...
- Maha Ati Tantra
- Ngagpa
In Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Ngagpas or male practitioners are non-monastic practitioners of such disciplines as Vajrayana, shamanism, Tibetan medicine, Tantra and Dzogchen amongst other traditions, disciplines and arts. Significant lineage transmission is through oral lore...
- Reality and Chakras in Bön
- Trul khor
Tsa lung Trul khor known for brevity as Trul khor is a Himalayan tantric discipline which includes breathwork , meditative contemplation and precise dynamic movements to centre the practitioner...
- Aro gTér
Aro is a lineage within the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It has several unusual characteristics. The terma on which it is based teaches all Buddhist topics from point of view of Dzogchen, and so is characterized by uncommon simplicity. The lineage is entirely non-monastic , and so...
- Surya Das
Lama Surya Das is an American-born lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He is a poet, chantmaster, spiritual activist and author of many popular works on Buddhism; a teacher and spokesperson for Buddhism in the West. He has long been involved in charitable relief projects in the Third World and...
- Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu is a Dzogchen teacher who was born in Derge, Kham district on 8 December 1938. When he was two years old, Namkhai Norbu was recognized as the 'mindstream emanation', a tulku, of the great Dzogchen teacher, Adzom Drugpa , at five he was also recognized as a mindstream...
External links
{{Buddhism topics}}