The Dzogchen Primer

by Marcia Schmidt

  In Tibetan, the word glorious refers to the splendor or the glory of having realized the dharmakaya for the benefit of oneself, and the glory of manifesting the rupakaya for the benefit of others. This is the twofold benefit. In Tibetan, the expression “glorious and precious root guru” is always used since it is the root guru who confers the empowerments, expounds the tantras, and imparts the oral instructions. Among root gurus, the one who introduces the unborn dharmakaya of one’s own mind is called the precious root guru.

  After repeating the supplication to Guru Rinpoche three times, recite one rosary of Lama Khyenno. That means “Lama, think of me” or “take care of me” and is “I supplicate you” or “I take refuge in you.” Finally, the guru melts into light, and one considers oneself inseparable from him. One’s body, speech, and mind and the guru’s Body, Speech, and Mind become inseparable.

  After this come the two clarifications of attitude: the bodhisattva attitude of vast thought, the Sutra path, and the Secret Mantra attitude of profound method, the Mantra path.

  The two precious kinds of bodhichitta are the foundation of all the vehicles. According to the Sutra path, one accomplishes enlightenment through emptiness and compassion. Emptiness is the path of prajña; compassion is the path of upaya. According to Mantra, upaya is the development stage and prajña is the completion stage. Through development and completion one attains the unified level of Vajradhara. These are the special principles of Sutra and Mantra. The relative and absolute bodhichitta are the root of both Sutra and Mantra, which again are complete within the attitude of compassion. The link between buddhas and beings is compassion. It is never the case that buddhas, after attaining enlightenment, leave sentient beings behind. This is because of the power of compassion. Once enlightened, buddhas have not even a hairtip of self-interest; they accomplish only the benefit of others.

  Whether a Dharma practice carries one toward a perfect path or not depends upon one’s attitude. Taking on the bodhisattva attitude of vast thought, resolve: “May all the sentient beings as vast as the sky possess happiness and be free from suffering. So they may obtain complete and perfect enlightenment, I will practice this profound path of meditation.” The vast thought of the bodhisattva attitude refers to the Sutra teachings of the bodhisattvas, the Mahayana vehicle.

  Through the Secret Mantra attitude of profound method, envision the external world as the celestial palace and the inhabitants, all sentient beings, as having the nature of dakas and dakinis. The thoughts of all sentient beings have the nature of primordial purity, the original wakefulness of enlightened mind. This is called the threefold mandala: appearances as the mandala of the deity, sounds as the mandala of mantra, and thoughts as the mandala of wisdom. It is also called the three things to carry. This pure perception is what is meant by the Secret Mantra attitude of profound methods.

  The principle of Secret Mantra is nothing other than pure perception of that which has existed since the very beginning. One should never be separated from pure perception. The outer world is pure; all sentient beings are dakas and dakinis. Even dogs and pigs, although appearing to be impure beings, possess the enlightened essence. They also possess the constituents of flesh, blood, heat or warmth, breath, and vacuities, the five properties of the five elements. In fact, the five aggregates are of the nature of the five male buddhas and the five elements are of the nature of the five female buddhas. Even the Hindu religion perceives the five elements as fire gods, water gods, and so forth. Worldly Hindus will take refuge in the gods of the elements, fire gods, wind gods, or water gods. We do not blame them for that; they don’t know any better. Their gods include the sun and moon, and so on. We can actually understand something from that. Their deities are worldly deities; ours are wisdom deities, which means that the aggregates and the elements do not possess even a dust mote of impurity.

  If one looks into the Vajrayana teachings and understands the intent of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, then all of the outer and the inner, the world and the beings, are the continuity of pure deities, which have existed as the nature of the three vajras since the very beginning. It is not that we must change the phenomenal world and its inhabitants from something that “is” into something that “is not,” nor must we transmute impurity into purity. We need not superimpose our own view on phenomena; pure perception is simply a recognition of the primordial state itself. Due to the difference between the confusion and liberation of thoughts, however, we have been unable to make this distinction and have become confused. This has not been to our benefit. In fact everything, all that appears and exists, is all-encompassing purity. It is said that in the all-encompassing purity of the phenomenal world, the very name of obstructing forces does not exist. So the attitude here is that everything is all-encompassing purity.

  First we dissolve the guru into ourselves, then we form the attitudes of bodhichitta. The training in awakening from the sleep of ignorance is a practice widespread in all the Buddhist traditions of Tibet, both the old and the new schools. Different liturgies are used, but the practice is the same. The Barchey Künsel terma of Chokling was spoken by Guru Rinpoche. We incorporate it here, since waking up in just an ordinary manner has little benefit.

  Actually we have been sleeping since beginningless time. Sleep is an aspect of ignorance, a subsidiary aspect of closed-mindedness. The sleeping state is not stupidity itself because stupidity means being unaware or ignorant of the true meaning. Sleep is one of the seven thought states, whereas the real stupidity is ignorance of the true meaning. This king of stupidity has sleep as his minister.

  At the very moment of waking up one should think of Guru Rinpoche with all the dakas and dakinis, voices singing and ornaments dangling. With ornaments of jewel and bone, they play hand drums and bells. “This is what wakes me up.” Thus should one wake, not just in an ordinary manner. This is the meaning of stirring from sleep. Due to their compassion and powers, one is awakened, not merely from ordinary sleep but from the sleep of ignorance. So: “Now I have awakened into the space of awareness wisdom.”

  Rinpoche sings the liturgy:

  Guru Padma together with his host of dakas and dakinis, accompanied by the music of hand drums and bells, have arrived with great splendor in the sky before me. Their bodies in dancing postures, their voices as melodies of symbolic language and mantra songs, and their minds as the essence of self-occurring awareness are all directed toward me.

  Lord guru and host of dakinis

  Gaze upon me with your compassionate eyes.

  Now all sentient beings of the three realms are asleep,

  Their minds in a state of indifference.

  When waking up, they wander through experiences of confusion.

  So that I, your child, a yogi who realizes natural awareness,

  May guide my mothers, the sentient beings of the six realms,

  To the pure land of celestial realms,

  I will follow you, the father guru.

  Not remaining indifferent in thought, word, or deed,

  I will gain certainty through learning, reflection, and meditation,

  And arrange my life around the four sessions.

  In this delightful realm of a mountain retreat

  I will accomplish the two benefits of self and others.

  Guru, may you and your host of dakinis,

  Bless my body, speech, and mind.

  Then, expel the stale breath three times.

  Adapted from Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Vajra Heart (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1988), “Wake-up Practice.”

  12

  THE FIRST OF THE FOUR DHARMAS OF GAMPOPA

  Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

  Grant your blessings that my mind may follow the Dharma.

  —GAMPOPA

  Before receiving teachings, let’s motivate ourselves with the precious enlightened attitude of bodhichitta. Form this wish: “I will study the Dharma and correctly put it into practice in order to establish all my mothers, sentient beings as many as the sky
is vast, in the state of liberation and the precious, irreversible supreme enlightenment.”

  I would like to present a teaching called “The Four Dharmas of Gampopa,” which is identical with four instructions given by Longchen Rabjam. If a practitioner receives these instructions and is diligent, he or she will be able to attain complete enlightenment within a single lifetime. It is amazing how extraordinary the vital teachings of the buddhas and accomplished practitioners are.

  The buddhas have totally perfected all the qualities of abandonment and realization; they have abandoned the obscurations and realized the wisdom qualities. Out of their great love and kindness for other beings, similar to the love a mother has for her only child, the awakened ones taught the Dharma. The source of Buddhism on this earth is Buddha Shakyamuni, the completely enlightened one. His teachings have been transmitted through a lineage of bodhisattvas abiding on the bhumis, the bodhisattva levels. Thus these teachings have been passed down through an unbroken lineage of accomplished practitioners up to my own root teacher.

  The first of these is how to turn one’s mind toward Dharma practice. Included within this are the four mind-changings. The second Dharma is how to ensure that one’s Dharma practice becomes the path. This includes teachings on the preliminary practices of the four times 100,000. Within the third Dharma, how to make the path clarify confusion, are the teachings on development stage, recitation, and completion stage. And within the fourth, how to let confusion dawn as wisdom, are teachings on how to gain certainty, realization of the natural state by means of the three great views. It is said that the ground is Mahamudra, the path is the Middle Way and the fruition is the Great Perfection. These Four Dharmas of Gampopa contain a complete path for an individual to attain full enlightenment within one body in one lifetime.

  Now for the first, “Turn your mind toward following the Dharma!” This is done by reflecting on the four mind-changings. The first of these describes the difficulty of obtaining a precious human body endowed with the eight freedoms and ten riches. Since we are already human beings it might seem that we effortlessly obtained a human body; however, that was not the case. It takes a tremendous amount of positive karma accumulated in former lifetimes for an individual to be born in a precious human body. It is only due to our former meritorious karma combined with pure aspirations that we now have a precious human body. There are as many human beings as there are stars in the sky at night. But among these humans, those who have interest in practicing the sacred Dharma, beings with a precious human body, are extremely few, like the stars in the morning sky. Among people with interest in Dharma, those who have sincere diligence are even fewer. Genuine Dharma practice means to give up all worldly ambitions and to pursue instead the attainment of complete enlightenment in this very lifetime.

  Although we have obtained a precious human body, it is governed by impermanence. Impermanence means that nothing, neither the world nor the beings in it, lasts. In particular, the life span of a human is extremely short, as unpredictable and insubstantial as a flash of lightning or a bubble in water. On this earth no one lives forever; one after the other, people pass away. After death, if we end up in the three lower realms we will undergo unbearable, indescribable misery and pain. Currently we strive for perfect conditions, pleasure and wealth. But no matter what incredible state of worldly luxury and happiness we might now attain, we lack the power to bring any of it—our friends, family members, or wealth—into the afterlife.

  Although we feel love and affection for our family and our friends, at the moment of death we journey alone to an unknown place. We have repeated the same experience in all our past lives, leaving behind all our acquaintances and abandoning our possessions. No matter what happiness and abundance we achieve in this lifetime, it is as insubstantial as the dream we dreamt last night. To understand that nothing lasts, that everything passes by like a dream, is to understand impermanence and death.

  If it simply were the case that our life ended in nothingness, like water drying up or a flame being extinguished, that would be perfect. There wouldn’t be anything to worry about. But I’m sorry to say it does not happen like that, because our consciousness is not something that can die. After death we are forced to experience the effect of our former karmic actions. Due to ignorance we have wandered endlessly in samsara, unable to be liberated, continually circling between the three lower and three higher realms, one after the other. In order to free ourselves from the six realms of samsaric existence, we need to practice the sacred Dharma now while we have the chance.

  Reflect on the meaning of these four topics I have just mentioned: the difficulty of obtaining a precious human rebirth, the fact that nothing lasts, that we are all mortals, that everyone is governed by the consequences of karmic actions, and that there is no place within samsaric existence with permanent happiness. Those are called the four mind-changings. They are extremely important to take to heart before starting to practice the precious Dharma. They are not fiction or fantasy. They are facts; they explain the circumstances and conditions that we live under within samsaric existence.

  It’s not impossible to understand that we do die, nor the details of what follows. We are all really just standing in line for that, waiting for it to happen. We need to face these facts in a very realistic way. It is very important to take these to heart.

  Adapted from Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Repeating the Words of the Buddha (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1996), “Four Dharmas of Gampopa,” and As It Is, Volume I (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1999).

  13

  RENUNCIATION MIND

  Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

  I think the word ngöndro or preliminary is encouraging because it is something that is taught for beginners. However, this word preliminary seems to have misled a lot of people who think it is not the main course, and hence many students tend to consider the preliminary practices to be unimportant. That is quite unfortunate because ngöndro consists of all the practices of the three yanas. For instance, there is refuge, which broadly speaking is the essence of Hinayana practice. Refuge saves us from choosing a wrong path and leads us to the right path, view, and meditation. Bodhichitta is the essential practice of Mahayana, which, as stated in the Mañjushri Sutra, is the only way to realize nonduality.

  Vajrasattva practice and mandala offering purify our perception and our being and also accumulate merit so that we become a perfect vessel to practice the profound yogas. Finally, there is the quintessential practice of Vajrayana, the sacred outlook laid out very skillfully in the last stage of the ngöndro, the guru yoga. We should not forget that ngöndro is not merely a preliminary; it is a main practice.

  If ngöndro practice were only a preliminary practice, then why would someone like His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche need to practice it even at a very late stage of his life? Yet he never gave up doing several ngöndros, Longchen Nyingtig, Chetsün Nyingtig, and at one point I also saw him doing Kunzang Tuktig. Those of you who seriously want to pursue the path of this dangerous, enigmatic Vajrayana, be ready to practice the ngöndro for a long time, not merely until you finish a certain required amount.

  The preliminaries have a very special structure that I will explain according to some of the writings by Jamgön Kongtrül. Ideally, someone who wishes to practice the ngöndro should, at least intellectually, come to the right view. Recognition of the correct view is difficult. I am not asking you to have recognized the view without any doubts—such confidence is very difficult, especially for beginners like us. All I am asking you is to at least get an intellectual understanding of the right view.

  For instance, the term Longchen indicates a view and has infinite meanings. Here, for the time being, the word Longchen is openness, a very big space. Basically, space is where things can fit. Right now, in our mindstreams, our space is very limited because we are either engrossed in the past, anticipating the future, or distorting the present. Lifetimes upon lifetimes, years upon years burdened
by all our various influences, we have limited and narrowed our space; now nothing fits in our mindstream, and the result is a constant anxiety and lack of courage. We undergo all the standard sufferings. We clutch very strongly. We grasp at things even though these tightly held, seemingly very attractive, solid, and tangible objects and experiences always fail us. No matter how many of them have failed us, somehow there is always this hope that the next object that we are clutching on to is not going to fail us. This tendency has continued for many, many lifetimes. Therefore, our mindstream is very limited and without space. Of course there is no space for others, nor is there is any space for one’s own fickle expectations, hopes and fears, and so on. Our practice is to clear this space. To know in reality that space is possible, that space does exist, even though seemingly there is no space, that much understanding is what I call an intellectual understanding of view.

  That much acceptance is very important and has to come through hearing teachings, contemplating, and reading books. Once we are vaguely convinced of this kind of view, then, as Jamgön Kongtrül says, it is really important to get used to this view. Practice means getting used to this view. Otherwise, as I was saying earlier, it is easy to get distracted, easy to think that the next object that we are going to clutch or grasp on to is going to work, maybe not this time but surely next time.