“Bodhicitta is the fruit that does not derive from a cause;
Bodhicitta is the secret instruction that does not derive from the scriptures;
Bodhicitta is enlightenment that does not stem from the mind;
Bodhicitta is space that does not manifest visibly.
As it has no color, it cannot be pointed to saying: ‘Here it is!’”
- Metsongma Parani
The three statements that strike the essence, Garab Dorje’s testament in three aphorisms, are this:
Directly discover your own state.
Remain without any doubt.
Achieve confidence in self-liberation.
On the basis of this three statements the teachings of Garab Dorje were divided into three series of Dzogchen:
Semde, the series of bodhicitta or nature of mind, the primordial state;
Longde, the series of space;
and Mennagde, the series of secret instructions, or upadesa.
The starting point is the principle of direct introduction indicated in the first of the three statements. The teacher introduces the nature of mind, that is, the state of primordial bodhicitta, to the disciple, and the latter must recognize or discover it in direct, non-conceptual manner.
The teachings that explain the meaning of the primordial state and contain instructions that enable its recognition are mainly contained in the Semde series.
After having recognized one’s own state, it is necessary to eliminate all doubts about it, not merely in intellectual way but rather through experience: instantaneous pure presence or recognition, called rigpa, must ripen and become stable thanks to the various Longde methods tied to particular experiences of contemplation.
Finally, the practitioner’s task is to integrate the state of knowledge into all his daily life activities and to develop that capacity to the point of unifying the energy of physical body with the energy of the outer world. This is the aim of the practices of the third and final series, the Mennagde, the supreme realization which lies in the manifestation of the rainbow body, the total re-absorption of the material elements into the pure energy and luminous essence of the primordial state.
In substance, the three phases correspond to the three aspects of Dzogchen training: understanding (rtogs pa), stabilizing (brtan pa) and integrating (bsre pa).
One should not think, however, that the practice of Dzogchen must necessarily start with Semde and end with Mennagde; total realization can be achieved by practicing only one of the three series, inasmuch as each of them is a complete path in itself.
It is simply a matter of understanding which aspect receives greater emphasis in one series rather than another and knowing how to embark on the path that will be most beneficial in terms of one’s capacity.
- this paragraph wrought on tha basis of “The Supreme Source” by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, Chapter 2.
“The teachings have the quality of warm, fresh baked bread; the bread is still warm and hot and fresh. Each baker must apply the general knowledge of how to make bread to his particular dough and oven. Then he must personally experience the freshness of this bread and must cut it fresh and eat warm. He must make the teachings his own and then must practice them. It is a very living process. There is no deception in terms of collecting knowledge. We must work with our individual experiences. When we become confused, we cannot turn back to our collection of knowledge and try to find some confirmation or consolidation: ‘The Teacher and the whole theaching is on my side.’ The spiritual path does not go this way. It is a lonely, individual path.”
from ‘Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism’ by Chogyam Trungpa
I remember when Khyentse Yeshi Namkhai was giving teachings on the Chapter 8 of the Supreme Source, He said that He saw a discussion thread on an internet Buddhist forum with people commenting how was the book. Rinpoche said that He found it really odd and funny, because how can you comment how is a book that contains the text of a Dzogchen tantra?
Here I attempt to review a book with teachings of Experiental Transmission of Dzogchen and of course I quite feel the same, especially that I have received the teachings from Rinpoche.
The book ‘Masters of the Zhang Zhung Nyengyud’ contains transcript of teachings by Yongdzin Rinpoche on the Bonpo Experiental Trasmission of Dzogchen known as Zhang Zhung Nyengyud. The book is prettily published, it is hardcover, has a comfortable font, contains a linage tree diagram and colorful images of each master whose teachings are in it. There are short introductory chapters on Dzogchen and the lineage from Zhang Zhung and an essential commentary of Rinpoche on how to apply correctly the Dzogchen teachings as path. There is also Rinpoche’s teachings on Guru Yoga and final advice on practicing in modern times, a priceless advice for every practitioner.
The core of the book are chapters dedicated to experiental advice of the lineage masters. These are personal teachings on how to recognize Natural State and how to continue in contemplation and to integrate body, speech and mind with the practice. They are the experiences of each of the masters with their visionary (Clear Light) practice.
Reading this book a person interested in the Dzogchen teachings receives a lot of essential advice and a kind of illustrative teaching what is their real state according to the Dzogchen teachings; it is important to not confuse this two.
To gain real experience of one’s own state, as Rinpoche points out in the introductory commentary, it is necessary to receive Dzogchen teachings from a qualified master; particularly to apply the experiences of the masters contained in this book it is important to receive the teachings from qualified lineage holder.
I find this book a personal treasure, even though I received the teachings directly from Rinpoche. I am sure it will be a precious, clear and alive advice for all those who attempt to practice Dzogchen.
I want also to relate my private story connected with the book.
When I first heard the teachings are going to be published, I was very happy. Then I came across a banner with an example page from the book and to my surprise the master’s advice on that page was different from the teaching I received from Yongdzin Rinpoche. I was certain there was a mistake in the book. I emailed Dimitry about it and I was not convinced with his explanation that there are different versions of the master’s advices.
Then I of course ordered the book and was waiting anxiously for the copy to arrive, and the time was passing but the book was not arriving. It finally turned out that somehow the postman forgot to leave a note in my mail that I have a package to pick! Anyway I was still sure there is a mistake in the book and that two of the master’s advice’s are swapped. It turned out I was wrong, of course… but! Looking through the book I found a tiny mistake in the lineage tree diagram, within the order of the first twenty-four masters. The mistake was later corrected and a correction note was sent to the earlier copies owners.
Dimitry has told me it was a very auspicious coincidence that I found the mistake and somehow sensed it before receiving the book.
“Many people have the idea that Dzogchen is a beautiful path of self-liberation and say, ‘What needs to be changed?’ Everything is Samantabhadra: everything you see naturally liberates.’ They have this nice idea but their understanding just remains on an intellectual level. In practice, they are totally distracted and are not in the state of rigpa or contemplation at all. In which case, everything is not in the condition of Samantabhadra.
If you do not make this distiction clear it can become a problem. You may think everything is Samantabhadra and fool yourself for the whole of your life. This can be very dangerous. If someone understands and truly integrates all of their sense contacts into the state of contemplation, then certainly that is the state of Samantabhadra or the state of integration. But a normal person does not have this capacity. Even if someone has had certain experiences of knowledge they do not spend all their lives in the state of integration - in fact, they still have many distractions.”
Quotation from Dzogchen Teachings of Master Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Short poetic inscription that comes from a painting from Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud that illustrates the Dzogchen Teachings from the text ‘Combination of the Four Wheels’:
“In the Basis of All which is like the sky,
The Intellect shines like the sun.
The Basis of All and the Intellect is one and the same.
It emanates sounds, lights and rays.
It is the Bonku (Dharmakaia).
It is the Yeshe Tson-gang (Rigpa).
Wrapped in five lights,
In the form of circles, images and chains.
It is the spontaneous embodiment of the three bodies.
It is the primeval basic-source of samsara and nirvana.
Because of the difference between realizing this or not,
There arise the Enlightened Being and ordinary beings.”
from ’The Little Luminous Boy’
by Samten G. Karmay
Od-kyi Khye’u-Chung, which in Tibetan means just Little Luminous Boy, is another name of the master of Zhang Zhung Nyengyud known as Tapihritsa.
This post attempts to outline what does it mean to practise the Dzogchen teachings as one’s spiritual path.
Dzogchen is the pinnacle of all yanas, the Great Perfection. That means all paths and fruits of other vehicles are automatically perfected within it. Despite the fact that Dzogchen is called an ‘effortless’ path, one vital point must not be overlooked, namely the difference between Dzogchen and Dzogchen-pa, or between the Nature of Mind and a practitioner of Dzogchen. Dzogchen-pa is not Dzogchen. Dzogchen-pa is the practitioner who tries to purify his or her obscurations by following Dzogchen methods. Hence at all times one must be aware of one’s own level of realization.
From the point of view of Dzogchen there is no need to practise Refuge, Bodhichitta, Compassion and so on separately as these are realized spontaneously in the Natural State of Dzogchen. This is known as the ‘View from the Base’.
A Dzogchen-pa must soberly know his or her own capacity. If one is unable to remain in the Natural State at all times then one must perform virtuous actions, accumulate merits and use any methods needed in addition to practice sessions where one is immersed in the contemplation of the Natural State. Gradually, as one’s capacity increases, one will naturally be able to integrate any kind of activity with one’s realization of the Nature of Mind and so conduct will change automatically without effort. This is called the ‘View of the Practitioner’.
Also, for those practitioners of Dzogchen who have correct experiences, those experiences automatically increase their compassion. That is the right sign. If certain extraordinary experiences take place, but the person does not find a positive effect on compassion, then the experience of awareness is not correct.
There is the belief that since Dzogchen is the Supreme Source a Dzogchen practitioner doesn’t need to engage in virtuous actions and so on, and can even manifest all sorts of erratic or negative conduct. This sort of view has nothing to do with real Dzogchen.
There are stories of realized Dzogchen yogis or Mahasiddhas who behaved very strangely and often seemingly incongruently, going beyond the social norms of ‘acceptable’. Some may try to emulate this kind of behaviour or so called Crazy Wisdom without realizing that the underlaying base behind it is the complete realization of the Natural State, the ability to remain in it at all times of day and night while engaging in any kind of activity of body, speech and mind. Until this capacity is reached, merely emulating the external facets of Crazy Wisdom conduct without realizing the inner background is extremely negative and will lead to the accumulation of vast store of negative karma rather then its purification.
The spontaneous self-liberation of one’s own natural behaviour is not something to engage in with intention. The state of equality of whatever arises is not maintained by means of antidotes. When one’s knowledge is stable and secure there is nothing to refute in behaviour, but someone who does not have this realization should not engage in this behaviour.
Apart from the Master’s oral teachings, sources for this post are:
‘Masters of the Zhang Zhung Nyengyud’
by Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak,
‘The Healthy Mind Interviews, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama’
by Henry M. Vyner,
‘The Precious Vase’
by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu.
I want to start with a traditional simple recipe enriched with the elements preparation for balanced food energy and better taste and digestion.
The recipe is for pork chops.
You need three medium-sized, thin-chopped slices of pork that you spice with pepper and then salt and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Mix a plate of wheat bread crumbs with half of spoonful of curcuma (and eventually a quarter of spoonful of red or sweet paprika pepper or cayenne) and prepare three lightly whisked eggs.
Spice the slices of meat with either a bit of curcuma or paprika pepper or cayenne and add a tiny bit of cinnamon to the spiced crumbs.
Heat frying-pen and when it is well heated add amply olive oil and reduce the fire. In the meantime dip the chops into the eggs and coat well in the crumbs (use the crumbs abundantly.) Raise the fire and put the chops onto the frying pen; fry them first on medium to strong fire for 2 or 3 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat and let them fry slowly, turning from time to time as needed, for another 4 to 7 minutes. Add more olive oil if necessary.
You can also spice them as they fry with a bit of pepper or powdered gingered, this is optional but recommended for autumn.
Serve with cooked potatoes and carrot or cucumber salad.
If there is any leftover of the eggs fry it quickly* in the leftover fat stirring vigorously with fork - this makes a tasty addition to the main dish.
* less then a minute immediately after you closed fire when taking the meat off the frying pen
As you can see, it is somewhat standard recipe enhanced with the use of spices specific way. You should of course use fresh ground pepper and fresh lemon juice. Also the sequence the spices are added and the steps of preparation matter, like heating the frying pen prior to adding oil, or preparing the meat first in eggs then in crumbs. I will explain the purpose of them later, for now I only say that this last one serves particularly for frying in the olive oil - if you do it this way the coating will not fall off the meat during frying.
Earlier I posted two quotations from ‘The Precious Vase’ on positive and negative conditioning by karma, ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ respectively part I and II.
Here I am reblogging a post by Craig Bialick which, I believe, explains the correct context of the Buddhist teachings on karma and cuts away some common misunderstandings.
In other words, using my metaphor of the movie title, the postman still has a physical body and wears pants. :-)
“It’s all karma.”
When looking at world events, as well as experiences closer to home, does that line ever sound a bit trite or too simplistic an explanation to be meaningful? You might want to hear what the Buddha said about it.
According to Buddhism, there are five relatively independent orders or processes (niyama) which operate in the physical and mental realms, among which karma-niyama is only one. The others correspond to the domains of physics, biology, psycholgy & dharma.
Utu Niyama - physical inorganic order, e.g. seasonal phenomena of winds and rains. The unerring order of seasons, characteristic seasonal changes and events, causes of winds and rains, nature of heat, etc., all belong to this group.
Bija Niyama - order of germs and seeds (physical organic order), e.g. rice produced from rice-seed, sugary taste from sugar-cane or honey, peculiar characteristics of certain fruits, etc. The scientific theory of cells and genes and the physical similarity of twins may be ascribed to this order.
Karma Niyama - order of act and result, e.g., desirable and undesirable acts produce corresponding good and bad results. As surely as water seeks its own level so does Karma, given opportunity, produce its inevitable result, not in the form of a reward or punishment but as an innate sequence. This sequence of deed and effect is as natural and necessary as the way of the sun and the moon.
Dhamma Niyama - order of the norm, e.g., the natural phenomena occurring at the advent of a Bodhisattva in his last birth. Gravitation and other similar laws of nature. The natural reason for being good and so forth, my be included in this group.
Citta Niyama - order or mind or psychic law, e.g., processes of consciousness, arising and perishing of consciousness, constituents of consciousness, power of mind, etc., including telepathy, telaesthesia, retro-cognition, premonition, clairvoyance, clairaudience, thought-reading and such other psychic phenomena which are inexplicable to modern science.
“The Ultimate Reality in Dzogchen is not considered to be the Absolute Truth, found in the other Buddhist schools, and represented as emptiness of both self and the phenomena. Dzogchen teachings acknowledge the existence of the two truths (absolute and relative) but state that the Natural State is represented by the single truth, known as one taste (ro gcig) or the unique essence (thig le nyag gcig). Natural state is beyond karmic causality and its effects. Appearances comprised of self and phenomena are the product of accumulated karma and they do exist on the level of relative truth. On the level of absolute truth, Dzogchen teachings acknowledge their emptiness, however, this is not the end state, since even acknowledging emptiness means grasping in order to understand it. In Dzogchen one does not grasps for either emptiness or for awareness. Similarly one does not grasp for apperances. Both emptiness and appearances dissolve in the Natural State, and, like the drops in ocean, have the single salty taste of the whole ocean itself.”
Unfortunately I forgot the source of this nice quotation, though it comes for sure from a pdf book on dzogchen and Bon that I found online.
