The Dzogchen Primer

by Marcia Schmidt

  Jamgön Kongtrül said that, in order to begin our practice of getting used to the view, laying the foundation is most important. The foundation is renunciation mind. Renunciation means revulsion for this endless, meaningless, worldly life that is constantly creating suffering, whether directly or indirectly. Some amount of renunciation mind is very necessary as a foundation. This is a very important remark by Jamgön Kongtrül because we really cannot take refuge until we have renunciation mind. As long as we do not have renunciation mind, we always think that there is an alternative, a different way to solve the problem. It is like we are falling from a cliff and as we drop we grab anything in front of us: grass, branches, dried wood, whatever. All of these fail, but we don’t give up because we think that the next tuft of grass is going to work. As long as we don’t stop, as long as we don’t see that none of these are going to work, we can’t really surrender totally to the Triple Gem. This is why renunciation mind is a foundation. It is so easy to talk about and so difficult to practice.

  How can you people develop renunciation mind? You live in this world where things work, the traffic lights work, the toilets flush properly. How can renunciation happen here? It doesn’t even begin to happen with people like us. Given the places where we grew up and the conditions we endured, you might think that renunciation mind is easy, but actually it is not. Rather it is just as bad, if not worse, because people like us are hoping to become people like you, so renunciation mind in fact is totally absent.

  Jamgön Kongtrül said, as a foundation of the practice we need renunciation mind, and as a door to the practice we need devotion or trust. Not only trust in the guru, we also need to trust the path and the method. Now, that is very crucial. Jamgön Kongtrül continues, as the main path itself we need compassion, and as a soul or life-stream of the path we need diligence. When diligence is lost, the path dies. The path is very short-lived, very fragile, so diligence is necessary. That which ensures that we are on the path is mindfulness. To dispel the obstacles to the path we need complete surrender to the Triple Gem. To enhance the power and the strength of the path we need devotion toward the guru, and to not get sidetracked we need to understand that our guru’s pith instructions are the path. This is very important advice because most of the time we forget that the pith instructions are the path. We always think that the path is in the sutras, shastras, and tantras, but the path can be the simple instructions coming from the guru. In short, lay the foundation with renunciation mind, open the door with devotion, remain on the path with compassion, persist with diligence, and avoid sidetracks with mindfulness. All these are structured in the preliminaries. This is why the preliminaries are so important, because other than these there is no path or any other actual Vajrayana practice.

  When you begin whatever ngöndro practice you choose to do, instead of immediately beginning to read the liturgy it helps a lot to contemplate renunciation mind, to contemplate all the preliminary thoughts such as impermanence, karma, and the faults of samsara. Somehow doing so will properly create the atmosphere of that day’s practice. I have noticed that many students, since their time is very limited, especially for those who have so many sadhanas to practice, do not do this contemplation at the beginning of the practice. For instance, in the Longchen Nyingtig there is a technique of blessing the tongue, and even before that there is the technique of purifying the stale air; these are all skillful means to invoke this contemplation. If you don’t have the time to do all those practices, at least sit and contemplate for a few minutes.

  When you contemplate, do so sincerely. We read so much about impermanence and the faults of samsara, the hell realms and the hungry ghost realms, that somehow we become jaded by this information. Contemplating these things or merely thinking or even reading a few pages about them does help a little bit. However, it does not really invoke the yearning or strong wish to actually give up everything worldly and to concentrate on practice. These contemplations do not seem to really penetrate our mind. Whatever makes you feel revulsion for samsaric life, whatever makes you have some kind of enthusiasm toward the path is something you should invoke, no matter what it happens to be on that particular day. It could be that you have had a ridiculous misunderstanding with a friend or sibling, and so that might invoke renunciation mind. Consider that now you are over forty or fifty years old and you have tried so many methods, changed so many clothes, and had so many partners, but none of it works. Usually we think, “Ah, this next partner is going to be different!” This is my own personal experience as well as the experience of those people who happen to be close to me. [Rinpoche smiles.] Really, genuinely contemplate. Let’s say you are practicing this in the evening, then consider what you have done that day, what you have gone through. It should bring some kind of notion that what you have been doing is ridiculous, that there is actually something better to do. I think this is quite important.

  I am only reminding the older Dharma students who have gathered so much information. Honestly, how many times have you heard these preliminary teachings? How many years now have you sat through explanations of The Words of My Perfect Teacher? Isn’t it at least three years that I have been teaching this? Somehow, we are jaded by this information. I have known a few of you for twenty years, and ever since we met we have talked about how samsara is futile; but look, we are still stuck. We still get hurt if we are even slightly ignored. We still get bothered if someone steps on our toes. That just goes to show that we do not have renunciation mind. We have sat through the teachings; we have heard and read so much about it, but we are not really taking it to heart. Really, this is quite important.

  On the other hand, I like to encourage myself that I have been quite fortunate to have this opportunity and some kind of merit to have met great masters, and so much of the information they passed on to me is stored in my being. Now personally, I have given up on myself, but at least if I speak up about this information then maybe along the way it might help some of you.

  But as I speak this I feel so embarrassed. I feel embarrassed because when I was talking about getting hurt, getting agitated, getting paranoid, getting blissed-out, getting satisfied, or getting annoyed, I myself go through all of these, and each and every one of them is actually a big deal for me. When I get annoyed it is a big deal, it is a very big deal; in fact, when I get annoyed several people get annoyed. At least you are in a better situation; you at least sort of hide yourself in your own closet and get annoyed, so who cares? Nobody gives a damn about it. But I might even get annoyed if I am the only one who is annoyed. All this shows that there is no renunciation mind. This is how I contemplate, though of course not all the time. It is once in a blue moon when all the movies are watched, when there is nothing interesting on television, and when no interesting people are calling me except a few devoted but somewhat neurotic students. Anyway, then I try to practice.

  That I easily become annoyed and agitated shows that I do not have renunciation mind. Renunciation mind is very simple in a way. We have renunciation mind when we realize that all this is not a big deal. Somebody steps on your toe, what’s the big deal? The more we get used to this notion, the more we have renunciation mind. At least I try to see why I make all this into such a big deal. I am merely giving you a model of how to invoke renunciation mind.

  It is a bit like this example. We have been walking in this desert for so long, and anything that flows, anything that is watery, is so important for us. Even if we see a mirage our only wish is to get near the water without ever realizing that it is a mirage. If you don’t know that it is a mirage and you go there, all you end up with is a big disappointment. So, knowing that it is only a mirage is renunciation mind.

  Renunciation somehow has this connotation of giving something up. But it is like the example of the mirage. You can’t give up the water because there is none; it is only a mirage. Moreover, you don’t have to give up a mirage because what is the point of giving up a mirage; one need simply know that it is a mirage. Such unders
tanding is a big renunciation. The moment you know that it is a mirage, most likely you will not even go there because you know it is fake; or even if you do go, there is no disappointment because you already know what is there. At the very least you will only have a little disappointment. That is why Jamgön Kongtrül said renunciation mind is like a foundation.

  Renunciation mind has nothing to do with sacrificing. As I just mentioned, when we talk about renunciation, somehow we get all scared because we think that we have to give up some goodies, something valuable, some important things. But there is nothing that is important; there is nothing that is solidly existing. All that you are giving up is actually a vague identity. You realize that this is not true, not the ultimate, and this is how and why to develop renunciation.

  Printed with permission of the author. 2002 by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

  14

  IMPERMANENCE

  Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

  The world outside is impermanent, as are the beings contained in it.

  Definitely death lies at the end of birth.

  The time of death lies uncertain,

  But when death arrives only the Dharma can help me.

  I will therefore endeavor in one-pointed practice without wasting time.

  —KARMEY KHENPO RINCHEN DARGYE

  Whether we are beginners or not, we should know that nothing in this world lasts. To understand this fully and to really take it to heart is the foundation of all Buddhist practice. Not taking impermanence to heart prevents our Dharma practice from being successful. The starting point, the first step through the door to Dharma practice, is the understanding that life is impermanent, that our time is running out.

  We believe that what we have will last for some time, but no matter where we look in this world, we find nothing that is stable or permanent. As soon as the sun and moon rise, moment by moment they draw closer to setting. They don’t linger in between for even an instant. Seasons change; the days, months, and years pass by. The whole universe is in flux as it goes through the stages of formation, subsistence, disintegration, and disappearance. All living things perpetually change. Life is like a candle that slowly burns down, getting shorter, not longer. Life doesn’t wait; it is like a waterfall that is continuously running, never stopping. Every moment we are drawing closer to death. We probably understand this intellectually, but it’s very important to think carefully about it so that it remains vividly present in our mind.

  Not really taking impermanence to heart, we make long-term plans and take them seriously. Consider yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Yesterday will never come back; it is part of our life that is gone. Past moments, hours, and days never return. Tomorrow becomes today and today fades into yesterday. When today has become yesterday, nobody in the whole world can bring it back to the present. Our life passes, and the fact that it can end at any moment means we are in a most precarious and dangerous situation.

  We can be certain that not a single person alive now will be alive 150 years from now. Nevertheless, nobody believes he will eventually die. We are always preoccupied with plans to create and establish something that can be continued, maybe not just for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren.

  If we could just live forever in this present body, we wouldn’t have to worry about any aftermath. But death is unavoidable. No one is immortal. Each and every one of us must someday die. We are like a tree that appears to be growing but is decaying inside. Sooner or later the rot takes over and the tree falls.

  Undeniably, our present life will end in death. The time before death is more comfortable than what follows. No matter how bad our situation may be while we are alive, we can always try to improve it through our ingenuity. At this time we have free will and the opportunity to change our circumstances. But the events that occur after death depend totally on our personal karma. We are absolutely powerless and choiceless regarding the experiences that will arise.

  After death, depending on the karma accumulated by our past actions, we are thrust into a new existence. If we desire rebirth in a good situation, we should realize that the causes for this are currently in our own hands. What can be of help after death? Only the Dharma practice that we invest our time in right now can ensure positive future circumstances. Nothing else will be of any benefit; we can’t rely on anything else.

  In Buddhist training, revulsion and renunciation are called the “two feet of meditation practice.” Revulsion is losing our appetite for samsaric existence and realizing that samsaric pursuits are futile and pointless and do not yield any permanent pleasure and happiness whatsoever. Renunciation means to understand that time is running out and everything passes.

  Revulsion is the feeling people suffering from jaundice or liver disease experience when served fried food; they are either very nauseous or they vomit. In the same way, when we realize that all the achievements of the six realms of samsara are futile, insubstantial, and meaningless, we lose our appetite for them.

  Renunciation, wanting to be free from samsara, is to realize that all conditioned samsaric states are painful and everything is impermanent. We need to acknowledge sincerely and honestly that our life is a fleeting, fragile existence. Our present body is as perishable as a rainbow in the sky, our breath is like mist on the mountains, and all our thoughts and feelings are like bubbles that appear one moment and vanish the next. From the core of our heart, we need to have this conviction.

  Worldly people are only interested in having nice clothes to wear, getting good food to eat, and securing a good reputation. But food, clothing, and a good name are very unstable achievements. In fact, although we really only need enough clothes to keep warm and not freeze, somehow we feel the minimum is not enough. We don’t just want ordinary clothes: we want special, fashionable, designer clothes. Regarding food, we only need to eat so that the body survives and doesn’t starve. However, mere sustenance doesn’t really satisfy us. We want something extraordinary to eat, gourmet food. We also want to be sure to have all the necessities of life when we grow old. We constantly worry about the future, stashing our money away for our old age. When we die, if we have always dressed nicely we will leave behind a well-dressed corpse. If we only wore ordinary clothes, we leave a corpse in ordinary clothing. But a corpse is a corpse, and the attire doesn’t make any real difference. We can’t take our clothes, supply of food, or bank account with us.

  Of these three, food, clothing, and reputation, the worst is craving a good name and respect. When one moves in lower social circles, one longs for the prestige of being talented, influential, clever, or beautiful. One wants to be regarded as somebody. When one circulates among kings and ministers in the highest ranks of society, one desires world fame. The need for a good name is even more pointless than the other two because at least one can eat the food and wear the clothes. One can’t really do anything with reputation; it’s like thunder in the sky or an echo that vanishes the moment after resounding.

  Our reputation is totally useless. When we die, even if we have been the king of a great nation, although those still alive will say, “Oh, our king died,” in the bardo state we won’t be greeted by any official welcoming party. The terrifying figures appearing in the bardo, the Lord of Death and his henchmen, do not respect anyone, regardless of his or her social standing. On the contrary, the more we indulge in superficial selfesteem in this life, that much more loss will we reap in the bardo state. At that time there will be nothing whatsoever left to support such a conviction. Practitioners regard the craving for food, clothing, and reputation as detrimental. They curtail their preoccupation with these things and are satisfied with the bare necessities of life.

  Until now, we have had so many past lives, one after the other. There are no immortals in this world; everyone dies. After death we will be reborn among one of the six classes of beings, remain there for some time, then die once again to be reborn elsewhere. On and on it goes, through countless future lives. This chain of birth, death, rebirth, a
nd death again is powered by our karmic deeds and their fruition. This whole cycle is called samsara, which means “spinning” or “circling” like a cog in a machine.

  That which decides where we will be reborn is called our karmic debt. If we have committed many positive or “white” karmic deeds, the effect is that we are reborn in one of the three higher realms of samsara. If, on the contrary, we have committed many negative actions, the karmic effect will be rebirth in one of the three lower realms of samsara. The three higher realms are the realms of human beings, demigods, and gods. An even higher achievement is liberation from samsara, which refers to rebirth in one of the buddhafields. Higher than even liberation is buddhahood, complete enlightenment itself.

  In accordance with the severity of one’s negative karma, one could take rebirth in one of the three lower realms, as an animal or, if the karmic misdeeds are even worse, as a hungry ghost or a hell being in one of the hot or cold hells. All of these realms are created by our own karmic actions. The one who knew that our good and evil actions have an effect and that there are higher and lower realms was the perfectly Awakened One, the Buddha.

  The Buddha named the world we are born into Saha, which means “indiscernible,” that which cannot be seen clearly. If we do an evil action, its effect does not appear immediately. When we do something good, that result is not evident to anybody. If the result of a negative action would ripen the moment after enacting it, nobody would commit evil. Likewise, people would not hold back from positive deeds because the effect would be instantaneous. However, the results of actions do not ripen immediately; they are not instantly discernible, but only ripen slowly. Due to not realizing the positive and negative results of actions and not understanding impermanence, we are completely oblivious to the consequences of our actions. We don’t see what is happening, we don’t see the result of our actions, we don’t see how much or how little merit we have, so we walk around like stupid cows. If the effect of an action were to manifest immediately, then even if someone said “Please do a negative action,” there is no way we would do so because we would instantly see the result. If we have eyes and stand on the brink of an abyss, we will not jump, because we see that by jumping we would die. If we could see the effect of our good and evil actions, we would never commit negative actions. But this world is not like that: here, the results of actions appear unclear and vague.