The Dzogchen Primer

by Marcia Schmidt

  Transcendent generosity is found in contentment;

  Its essence is simply letting go.

  Discipline is not to displease the Three Jewels.d

  The best patience is unfailing mindfulness and awareness.

  Diligence is needed to sustain all the other perfections.

  Concentration is to experience as deities all the appearances to which one clings.e

  Wisdom is the self-liberation of grasping and clinging;

  In it there is neither thinking nor a thinker.

  It is not ordinary. It is free from fixed convictions.f

  It is beyond suffering. It is supreme peace.

  Do not tell this to everyone—

  Keep it sacred within your own mind.

  To put in a nutshell the whole vast path of the bodhisattva teachings, including the six transcendent perfections, it could be summarized in its entirety as “emptiness of which compassion is the very essence.” Saraha says in his Dohas:

  Without compassion, the view of emptiness

  Will never lead you to the sublime path.

  Yet meditating solely on compassion, you remain

  Within samsara; so how could you be free?

  But he who comes to possess both of these

  Will neither in samsara nor in nirvana dwell.

  To dwell neither in samsara nor in nirvana is the “nondwelling nirvana” of the level of total buddhahood. As Lord Nagarjuna says:

  Emptiness of which compassion is the very essence

  Is only for those who want enlightenment.

  Drom Tonpa once asked Atisha what was the ultimate of all teachings.

  “Of all teachings, the ultimate is emptiness of which compassion is the very essence,” replied the Master. “It is like a very powerful medicine, a panacea that can cure every disease in the world. And just like that very powerful medicine, realization of the truth of emptiness, the nature of reality, is the remedy for all the different negative emotions.”

  “Why is it, then,” Drom Tonpa went on, “that so many people who claim to have realized emptiness have no less attachment and hatred?”

  “Because their realization is only words,” Atisha replied. “Had they really grasped the true meaning of emptiness, their thoughts, words, and deeds would be as soft as stepping on cotton wool or as tsampa soup laced with butter. The Master Aryadeva said that even to wonder whether or not all things were empty by nature would make samsara fall apart.g True realization of emptiness, therefore, is the ultimate panacea which includes all the elements of the path.”

  “How can every element of the path be included within the realization of emptiness?” Drom Tonpa asked.

  “All the elements of the path are contained in the six transcendent perfections. Now, if you truly realize emptiness, you become free from attachment. As you feel no craving, grasping, or desire for anything within or without, you always have transcendent generosity. Being free from grasping and attachment, you are never defiled by negative actions, so you always have transcendent discipline. Without any concepts of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ you have no anger, so you always have transcendent patience. Your mind made truly joyful by the realization of emptiness, you always have transcendent diligence. Being free from distraction, which comes from grasping at things as solid, you always have transcendent concentration. As you do not conceptualize anything whatsoever in terms of subject, object, and action, you always have transcendent wisdom.”

  “Do those who have realized the truth become buddhas simply through the view of emptiness and meditation?” Drom Tonpa asked.

  “Of all that we perceive as forms and sounds there is nothing that does not arise from the mind. To realize that the mind is awareness indivisible from emptiness is the view. Keeping this realization in mind at all times, and never being distracted from it, is meditation. To practice the two accumulations as a magical illusion from within that state is action. If you make a living experience of this practice, it will continue in your dreams. If it comes in the dream state, it will come at the moment of death. And if it comes at the moment of death it will come in the intermediate state. If it is present in the intermediate state you may be certain of attaining supreme accomplishment.”

  The 84,000 doors to the Dharma that the Conqueror taught are thus all skillful means to cause the bodhichitta—emptiness of which compassion is the very essence—to arise in us.

  Without bodhichitta, teachings on the view and meditation, however profound they may seem, will be no use at all for attaining perfect buddhahood. Tantric practices like the generation phase, the perfection phase, and so on, practiced within the context of bodhichitta, lead to complete buddhahood in one lifetime. But without bodhichitta they are no different from the methods of the tirthikas. Tirthikas also have many practices involving meditating on deities, reciting mantras, and working with the channels and energies; they too behave in accordance with the principle of cause and effect. But it is solely because they do not take refuge or arouse bodhichitta that they are unable to achieve liberation from the realms of samsara. This is why Geshe Kharak Gomchung said:

  It is no use taking all the vows, from those of refuge up to the tantric samayas, unless you turn your mind away from the things of this world.

  It is no use constantly preaching the Dharma to others unless you can pacify your own pride.

  It is no use making progress if you relegate the refuge precepts to the last place.

  It is no use practicing day and night unless you combine this with bodhichitta.

  Unless you first create the proper foundation with the refuge and bodhichitta, however intensively you might seem to be studying, reflecting, and meditating, it will all be no more use than building a nine-story mansion on a frozen lake in winter and painting frescoes on its plastered walls. Ultimately it makes no sense at all.

  Never undervalue the refuge and bodhichitta practices, assuming that they are inferior or just for beginners. Complete them in full, within the framework of preparation, main practice, and conclusion that applies to any path. It is most important for everyone, good or bad, high or low, to concentrate their sincerest efforts on these practices.

  In the particular case of lamas and monks who take donations from the faithful, who receive funds on behalf of the dead, or who do ceremonies to guide the dead, it is absolutely indispensable that they have sincere bodhichitta. Without it, none of their rituals and purifications will be of the slightest use to either the living or the dead. For others, they might appear to be helping, but deep down that help will always be mixed with selfish motives. For themselves, they will be defiled by accepting those offerings, and will engender endless faults that can only lead them to lower realms in their next life.

  Even someone who can fly like a bird, travel under the earth like a mouse, pass through rocks unimpeded, leave imprints of his hands and feet on rocks, someone who has unlimited clairvoyance and can perform all kinds of miracles—if such a person has no bodhichitta, he can only be a tirthika or possessed by some powerful demon. He might, at first, attract some naïve innocents who will be impressed and bring offerings. But in the long run he will only bring ruin upon himself and others. On the other hand, a person who possesses true bodhichitta, even without having any other quality, will benefit whoever comes into contact with him or her.

  You never know where there might be a bodhisattva. It is said that many bodhisattvas, using their skillful methods, are to be found even among slaughterers of animals and prostitutes. It is difficult to tell whether someone has bodhichitta or not. The Buddha said:

  Apart from myself and those like me, no one can judge another person.

  So just consider anyone who arouses bodhichitta in you as being a real buddha, whether a deity, teacher, spiritual companion, or anyone else.

  Whenever you feel that you have acquired certain qualities as signs of progress on the path, whatever they may be—realization of the natural state, clairvoyance, concentration, visions of the yidam, and so on—yo
u can be certain that they really are true qualities if, as a result, the love and compassion of bodhichitta steadily continue to increase. However, if the effect of such experiences is only to decrease the love and compassion of bodhichitta, you can be equally sure that what looks like a sign of success on the path is in fact either a demonic obstacle or an indication that you are following the wrong path.

  In particular, the authentic realization of the natural state cannot but be accompanied by extraordinary faith and pure perception toward those spiritually more mature than yourself, and extraordinary love and compassion for those who are less so.

  The peerless Dagpo Rinpoche once asked Jetsun Mila, “When will I be ready to guide others?”

  “One day,” the Jetsun replied, “you will have an extraordinarily clear vision of the nature of your mind, quite different from the one you have now, and free from any kind of doubt. At that time, in a way that is not at all ordinary, you will perceive me, your old father, as a real buddha, and you will inevitably feel natural love and compassion for all beings. That is when you should start to teach.”

  Study, reflect, and meditate on the Dharma, therefore, without dissociating one from the other, on the firm basis of the love and compassion of bodhichitta. Without first eliminating doubts through study, you will never be able to practice. It is said:

  To meditate without having studied

  Is like climbing a rock when you have no arms.

  Eliminating doubts through study does not mean that you have to know all the vast and innumerable subjects that there are to be known. In this degenerate era, that would never be possible within a short lifetime. What it does mean is that whatever teachings you are going to put into practice, you should know exactly how to do so from beginning to end without a single mistake. Any hesitations you might have, you should clear away by reflecting on those teachings.

  When Atisha was at Nyethang, Nachung Tonpa of Shang, Kyung Tonpa, and Lhangtsang Tonpa asked him to teach them about the different systems of logic.

  Atisha replied, “The non-Buddhist tirthikas and the Buddhists themselves have many systems, but they are all just chains of discursive thought. There is no need for all those innumerable ideas: life is too short to go through them all. Now is the time to reduce these things to their essence.”

  “How does one reduce them to their essence?” Nachung Tonpa of Shang asked.

  “By training in bodhichitta with love and compassion for all living creatures throughout space. By making strenuous efforts in the two accumulations for the benefit of all those beings. By dedicating all the sources of future good thus created to the perfect enlightenment of each and every being. And, finally, by recognizing that all these things are empty by nature, like dreams or magical illusions.”

  If you do not know how to reduce any practice to its essence, no amount of information, knowledge, and intellectual understanding will be of any use to you at all.

  When Atisha came to Tibet, he was invited to visit the great translator Rinchen Zangpo. He questioned the translator about which teachings he knew, naming a long list, one after another. It turned out that there were none that Rinchen Zangpo did not know. Atisha was extremely pleased.

  “Wonderful!” he said. “The fact that someone as learned as yourself already lives in Tibet means my visit is quite superfluous. And how do you combine all these teachings when you sit down to practice?”

  “I practice each one as it is explained in its own text,” said Rinchen Zangpo.

  “Rotten translator!” cried Atisha in disappointment. “Then my coming to Tibet was necessary after all!”

  “But what should I do instead?” asked the translator. “You should find the essential point common to all the teachings and practice that way,” Atisha told him.

  It is indispensable to seek the vital point of the practice, based on the teacher’s pith instructions. Once you know the essential point, you must put it into practice, or it will be utterly useless. Jetsun Mila said:

  The hungry are not satisfied by hearing about food; what they need is to eat. In the same way, just to know about Dharma is useless; it has to be practiced.

  The purpose of practice is to be an antidote for negative emotions and ego-clinging. Jetsun Mila again:

  It is said that you can tell whether someone has just eaten by how red his face is. Similarly, you can tell whether people know and practice the Dharma by whether it works as a remedy for their negative emotions and ego-clinging.

  Potowa asked Geshe Tonpa what was the dividing line between Dharma and non-Dharma. The geshe answered:

  If it counteracts negative emotions, it is Dharma. If it doesn’t, it is non-Dharma.

  If it doesn’t fit with worldly ways, it is Dharma. If it fits, it is non Dharma.

  If it fits with the scriptures and your instructions, it is Dharma. If it doesn’t fit, it is non-Dharma.

  If it leaves a positive imprint, it is Dharma. If it leaves a negative imprint, it is non-Dharma.

  Master Chegom says:

  To believe in the effects of actions is the right view for those of ordinary faculties. To realize all inner and outer phenomena as the union both of appearance and emptiness, and of awareness and emptiness, is the right view for those of higher faculties. To realize that the view, the one who holds it, and realization itself are indivisibleh is the right view for those of the highest faculties.

  To keep the mind totally concentrated on its object is the correct meditation for those of ordinary faculties. To rest concentrated on the four unionsi is the right meditation for those of higher faculties. A state of nonconceptualization in which there is no object of meditation, no meditator, and no meditative experience is the right meditation for those of the highest faculties.

  To be as wary about the effects of actions as one is careful to protect one’s eyes is the right action for those of ordinary faculties. To act while experiencing everything as a dream and an illusion is the right action for those of higher faculties. Total nonactionj is the right action for those of the highest faculties.

  The progressive diminution of ego-clinging, negative emotions, and thoughts is the sign of “warmth” for all practitioners, be they of ordinary, higher, or the highest faculties.

  Similar words are to be found in The Precious Supreme Path by the peerless Dagpo.

  When studying Dharma, therefore, you should know how to get at the essence of it. The great Longchenpa says:

  Knowledge is as infinite as the stars in the sky;

  There is no end to all the subjects one could study.

  It is better to grasp straight away their very essence—

  The unchanging fortress of the dharmakaya.

  Then, as you reflect on Dharma, you should rid yourself of any doubts. Padampa Sangye says:

  Seek the teacher’s instructions like a mother falcon seeking her prey.

  Listen to the teachings like a deer listening to music;

  Meditate on them like a dumb person savoring food;

  Contemplate them like a northern nomad shearing sheep;

  Reach their result, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

  Hearing the Dharma, reflecting on it, and meditating upon it should go hand in hand. The peerless Dagpo says:

  To churn together study, reflection and meditation on the Dharma is an infallible essential point.

  The result of study, reflection, and meditation should be a steady and real increase in the love and compassion of bodhichitta, together with a steady and real diminution of ego-clinging and negative emotions.

  This instruction on how to arouse bodhichitta is the quintessence of all Dharma teachings and the essential element of all paths. It is the indispensable teaching, to have which is definitely enough by itself but to lack which is sure to render everything else futile. Do not be content just with hearing and understanding it. Put it into practice from the very depth of your heart!

  I claim to be arousing bodhichitta, but still it has not arisen in
me.

  I have trained in the path of the six perfections, but have remained selfish.

  Bless me and small-minded beings like me,

  That we may train in the sublime bodhichitta.

  From Patrül Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1998, and San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994), “Wisdom through Meditation.”

  a The transcendent perfections of means (thabs), strength (stobs), aspiration (smon lam), and primal wisdom (ye shes) are added to the usual six to make what are called the ten transcendent perfections.

  b Atisha’s three main disciples.

  c This means neither suppressing thoughts nor following them, nor deliberately trying to alter the state of one’s mind or achieve a specific state of meditation. All deluded thoughts are in a sense alterations of the natural flow of awareness.

  d That is, having nothing to be ashamed of in front of the Three Jewels.

  e Concentration is the absence of distractions. The source of distraction is taking appearances as real. To meditate on appearances as deities (which means as pure wisdom manifestations with no concrete reality) is to be concentrated.