The Dzogchen Primer
Page 33
Of all the Collections (Pitakas) and all the tantras.
Moreover, the Exposition Tantra states:
As for this king of self-cognizance, the realization of the nature of equality,
Just as all rivers flow into the great ocean,
All the infinite number of liberations and vehicles
Are included within these great means of realizing the unexcelled nature.
From The Light of Wisdom, Volume I (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1999).
FACILITATOR GUIDELINES
INTRODUCTORY TEACHINGS
These introductory teachings serve as the map to guide readers through this book, which has been laid out by Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche. First, we establish the basis, the buddha nature. Next, we are led to admit that our experience is one of confusion. Thereafter we can apply ourselves in the methods, the practices on the path to clear away our confusion.
It is important for students to nurture an openness and a willingness to learn and practice in accordance with this tradition. It is fundamental to emphasize that this book does not attempt to create a new system. On the contrary, it encourages a very established approach presented in an accessible style. The sequential arrangement of teachings in this volume is based on The Light of Wisdom, root text by Padmasambhava and commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang (Rangjung Yeshe Publications).
It is good to begin by first reading the root verses of The Light of Wisdom, Volume I, and the root verses corresponding to what is quoted in The Jewel Ornament of Liberation by Gampopa, chapter 1, translated by Khenpo Gyaltsen Rinpoche (Snow Lion Publications).
CHAPTERS 1 AND 2
We need to develop trust in our own inherent ability to reach enlightenment through our natural possession, our buddha nature. Continue with the The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, chapter 1.
CHAPTERS 3 AND 4
This chapter and the next are supports for each other. There are several ways to approach discussion of this material depending on the group or student. One way might be to read and consider them together. Another way is to take each separately and use The Light of Wisdom, Volume I, chapter 8, “The Meaning of the Ground,” pp. 68–82.
CHAPTER 5
Nonverbal practice is introduced here. Henceforth meditation should precede each discussion session. Students should engage in whichever shamatha or vipashyana meditation practice they feel comfortable with or follow those explained in this chapter.
Shamatha is important because it is a preparation for all the later practices. Shamatha practice, training in being quiet, reduces our negative attitudes. It calms down our busyness and selfish preoccupations and makes us both more open and flexible in our minds and more suitable recipients for the teachings.
CHAPTERS 6 THROUGH 8
The path is unfolded in terms of both view and conduct. We need the correct attitude on how to approach the practices to rid us of our deluded perceptions. There are no levels to skip to get to the more exciting teachings. There is a reason for how the path is arranged and is to be traversed. That is, to keep harmony between view and conduct.
Students should be encouraged to go into depth in their study and comprehension of the teachings. Supporting texts for understanding this piece are The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrül Rinpoche, part 1, chapter 1, pp. 7–19 (Shambhala Publications), and Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa, pp. 13–18 (Shambhala Publications).
CHAPTERS 9 AND 10
The Words of My Perfect Teacher, part 1, chapter 6, “How to Follow a Spiritual Friend,” pp. 137–66, and The Light of Wisdom, Volume I, “How to Follow a Spiritual Guide,” pp. 87–94.
Most of us can agree that the ordinary, material reality of our everyday experience lacks magic and meaningful satisfaction. Stepping onto the spiritual path is not entering a fantasy world or traveling down the yellow brick road. Instead it is the genuine way to reconnect with the extremely subtle and sublime. To generate this vividness and access the necessary trust that is the merging point, there is no better method than reading the wonderful life stories of realized beings. Even if we cannot immediately generate devotion or have not met our own teacher, such works offer inspiration that will lead us in the right direction.
An extraordinary experience happens when we come into the presence of a realized master. Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche explained this when recounting meeting Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche:
People were so delighted when they met him. Many foreigners changed their whole perspective on life from only one meeting and felt extraordinarily blessed. Practitioners felt that they received blessings, and even ordinary people still felt that something unusual had happened. Whoever came into his presence never felt tired, even after several hours had passed. That is totally unlike being in the presence of some politicians, when you cannot wait to get away.
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s very presence was powerful. Without any concern for personal hardship, he always aimed to do his utmost to benefit sentient beings. He was also extremely humble and self-effacing—totally in tune with Shantideva’s bodhisattva ideal. He treated everyone, whether important or ordinary, with the same affection and attention, teaching everyone equally. In order to bring the highest benefit he always tried to communicate in the listener’s own terms. And it was not only in his teaching, but also in all his conversations, that you would find the bodhisattva ideal of oceanlike activity clearly reflected.40
Masters who have completely “severed the ties of selfishness and pursue only the welfare of others”41 are unlike mundane people. Receiving teaching from such individuals generates trust in their words. We skeptical Westerners, unless we can identify an authentic source, tend not to pay attention to or take seriously what is being explained. From the very outset, we need to associate the validity of this profound material with an extraordinary reality. Once we have some experience with a qualified master, that is not so difficult. However, if we have not met such a being, the precious genuineness needs to be instilled in the student’s mind in a believable and viable manner. As Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche said, “It is not only because I am Buddhist that I believe the Buddha. It is because there have been so many since him who showed very special signs of accomplishment. That is why I feel I can safely believe all his words. It is very important to have trust in the Buddha’s teachings if one wishes to apply them. If one tries to apply them without trust they won’t help much.”42
From the practical point of view, because of our dialectical training we need to apply all three unmistaken measures in order to have trust. These are: “the unmistaken quality of the Buddha’s words, the unmistaken quality of the statements of noble beings and the enlightened masters, and the unmistaken quality of our own root guru’s oral instructions which we put into practice. By combining these unmistaken qualities with our own experience, innumerable people have been able to reach a state totally free from doubt,”43 and so can we by combining these with our own intelligence and experience.
We can meet qualified teachers these days. Again, I cannot overemphasize the importance of attending seminars and retreats with them. Many wonderful and realized teachers frequently travel all over the world to instruct and practice with fortunate groups. Additionally, there are dedicated students, working with masters, who help to organize these programs. As an example, simply go to the Web sites of the Rigpa fellowship, under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche, or the Shambhala Centers, under the guidance of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, to get information on these events.
Recommended life stories, listed at the end of this book, include: Lady of the Lotus-Born, The Life of Marpa the Translator, The Life of Milarepa, The Life of Shabkar, The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava, Lord of the Dance, and The Lotus-Born.
CHAPTER 11
We have now reached the point where students can engage in the following practices collectively or on their own. What has previously been primarily theory can be mingled with practical applicat
ion. An essential point to accentuate is proper motivation. Motivation is twofold. We are practicing to benefit countless beings and to realize the true nature not only of our minds but of reality as well.
Tsoknyi Rinpoche tells how one of his teachers, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, would, quite often and repeatedly, in the middle of an extremely profound teaching, stop and ask his disciples to check their motivation. Moreover, he prompted them to “readjust” in case there was some incorrect attitude prevailing. Tsoknyi Rinpoche further relates how Khen Rinpoche would simply sit with his students during this readjustment period, sometimes for fifteen or twenty minutes. So, if such a great master trains his gifted students in this way, shouldn’t the rest of us examine ourselves at least as carefully? Moreover, Tsoknyi Rinpoche feels that “It is not merely the students who need to check their motivation; it is the teacher as well. Good motivation needs to be connected with compassion; there is no other way.”44 Periodically check and fine-tune, if necessary.
Another application of the wake-up practice is to use the liturgy as a preliminary before each session. This is a convenient method that Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche inspired us to adopt. In this way not only can we supplicate our teacher and rest in a state inseparable from his or her mind; we also have a reminder for engendering the correct attitude preceding each practice session.
CHAPTERS 12 THROUGH 14
These teachings, the Four Dharmas of Gampopa, are by themselves a complete path for enlightenment. The first of these, “How to turn one’s mind toward Dharma practice,” includes the four mind-changings. At this point, use The Words of My Perfect Teacher, pp. 19–131. This book gives the clearest and most accessible material. An additional source is The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, pp. 57–66 and 83–121. These teachings continue through the next few chapters.
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche explains how the four mind-changings and the preliminary practices originated and are to be applied:
For authentically applying yourself to this path [Vajrayana], all the panditas of India and lamas of Tibet have mentioned that it is indispensable to purify obscurations and gather the accumulations. However, since the Dharma is extremely vast and extensive, it is difficult for one person to practice all its details. So these masters condensed the essence of all the sutras and tantras into four things to reflect upon called “the four mind-changings” and five things to practice, “the preliminaries of the five times 100,000.”45
Before committing to the preliminaries, we need to become convinced of the necessity of taking on these practices and completing them. In my own experience, application came about in the following way. I became a Vajrayana student after many years as a Zen practitioner. I liked the simplicity of Zen practice and was quite skeptical of the complications I attributed to Vajrayana practice. My refuge lama was a very plain, highly accomplished master of the Drukpa Kagyü lineage. The style of Drukpa Kagyü suited my Zen sensibilities in that it is very careful, orderly, and exact. You proceed systematically; you do not begin the next practice until you have completed the one you are engaged in. Gegan Khyentse insisted that before proceeding with the extraordinary preliminaries I spend several months on the ordinary preliminaries known as the four mind-changings. He was both skillful and wise, because after contemplating these four mind-changings in detail, I was more than willing to begin the “complicated” ngöndro practice.
There are two ironies in this tale. The first is that it was not until I did the “highest and most secret” Dzogchen practices that I came to understand the profundity of the four mind-changings. And the second is that the simplicity of Zen is embodied in many of the Vajrayana masters with whom I have studied, from Gegan Khyentse to my root teacher Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. What were complicated were my preconceptions, nothing more.
Students should be encouraged not to externalize the teachings on the sufferings of the six realms. Even if, as beginners, we are skeptical of the existence of places like the hells and hungry ghost realms, we can easily find the tendencies toward these places in our own stream-of-being. Take anger, for example. Observe how we can blaze with the self-righteousness of the Hot Hells. Internally we become preoccupied and consumed with the intensity of that emotion. Haven’t we heard people say things like “I was so angry that I saw red”? Then there is the total isolation and defensiveness of the cold, steely anger that separates us from other people, as if in an icy environment—the Cold Hells. Haven’t we justified such feelings repeatedly?
It is the same with the propensities for the other realms. Don’t we experience greed, selfishness, stupidity, attachment, jealousy, and pride? Don’t we abandon the wishes of other people when they interfere in what is best for ourselves? Don’t we try to manipulate reality to suit our needs and lose the ability to rejoice in the success of even our friends? Certainly, numerous times we hold ourselves and our own concerns to be paramount and more important than others. Such behavior is a vivid reminder of each of the six realms brought into our present situation. Repeatedly, we relinquish altruism in favor of what is most comfortable for me. We need to admit our own proclivity for these experiences. All these realms “exist” due to the deluded perceptions of our unvirtuous minds.
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, “The Six Realms,” pp. 138–47, and The Myth of Freedom, pp. 23–40 (both Shambhala Publications) provide excellent explanations of the states of mind predominant in these realms.
CHAPTERS 15 AND 16
Please refer to the guidelines for chapter 12 on the first of the Four Dharmas above. This Dharma, “How to ensure that one’s Dharma practice becomes the path,” includes teachings on the preliminary practices of the five times 100,000.
The last two Dharmas are “How to make the path clarify confusion” (teachings on development stage, recitation, and completion stage) and “How to let confusion dawn as wisdom” (teachings on how to gain certainty, realization of the natural state by means of the three great views).
As mentioned in the preface, The Dzogchen Primer includes explanations on the first of the Four Dharmas and part of the second. The two subsequent volumes for the study program continue from the second Dharma through to the end of the fourth Dharma.
Continue using The Words of My Perfect Teacher and The Light of Wisdom, Volume I.
CHAPTER 17
As Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche says,
Failing to purify the obscurations and gather the accumulations will prevent you from realizing the true meaning of self-existing wakefulness. Therefore, it is essential to first endeavor in the practices that facilitate purifying obscurations and gathering the accumulations. There are also two kinds of accumulations: merit with concepts and nonconceptual wisdom. The accumulation of merit with concepts includes the preliminary practices, the ngöndro, as well as the yidam practice. The nonconceptual accumulation of wisdom is the training in samadhi, the natural state of your self-existing wakefulness.”46
CHAPTERS 18 AND 19
Continue with The Words of My Perfect Teacher, pp. 171–92.
Also include Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, “Surrendering,” pp. 23–30.
CHAPTER 20
This piece is good to use as a model for individual and group practices employing whichever preliminary practice text you are familiar with. If the group feels confident, they can include meditation practice within this as noted by the ringing of the bell.
CHAPTER 21
Now we are introducing another major text that can be used consistently with this topic: The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva (Shambhala Publications). Additionally, rely on The Words of My Perfect Teacher, pp. 195–251, and The Light of Wisdom, Volume I, pp. 115–34, as supports for the next three chapters.
CHAPTER 22
Study Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, “The Open Way,” pp. 97–104, beginning with: “The whole point is. . . .”
CHAPTERS 23 AND 24
Supplement this with Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, “The Bodhisattva Path,” pp. 167–
78.
CHAPTERS 25 THROUGH 31
Take The Light of Wisdom, Volume I, “The View of Ultimate Bochicitta,” pp. 135–46, as a primary source to help clarify and elucidate confusing points.
This last section of the book introduces many new concepts and terms. Engaging in detailed analysis could take many years. What is offered here is an overview. A further condensation can be included in these points: If we begin to examine our commonly accepted ideas about reality and ourselves, will they hold up under intense scrutiny? Can we conclusively establish the true existence of our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions?
Here is the perfect opportunity for the predominantly critical Western attitude to turn on itself and discover what is real and what is not. Encourage the student to question in these ways. All approaches have one primary goal: to integrate the teachings into our present experience in order to fully facilitate personal transformation.
If it all gets a bit too heady, try watching The Matrix on DVD or video, or sing Milarepa’s song “Wisdom through Meditation” aloud with a pleasing melody.
CHAPTERS 32 AND 33
Conclude with in-depth discussion of The Light of Wisdom, Volume I, “The Meditation of Ultimate Bodhichitta and Its Result,” pp. 146–55.
NOTES
1. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Rainbow Painting (Boudhanath: Yeshe Publications, 1995), p 24.