The Traditions of Bonpo Dzogchen
In general, within the Bon tradition, a number of different lines of transmission for the Dzogchen teachings exist, three of which are collectively known as A rdzogs snyan gsum. The first two of them represent Terma traditions based on rediscovered treasure texts, whereas the third is an oral tradition snyan brgyud based on a continuous transmission through an uninterrupted line of realized masters. These transmissions of Dzogchen are as follows The first cycle here of Dzogchen teachings is...
Shenchen Luga and the Revival of Bon
In the year 1017, Shenchen Luga gShen-chen klu-dga' came from eastern Tibet and discovered two large wooden boxes containing many Bonpo texts in the Tibetan language, which had been buried at Drigtsam Thakar 'brig-mtsham mtha' dkar in Tsang Province, near the ancestral seat of the Shen clan. 21 It was principally this discovery that led to the revival of Bon in central Tibet in the eleventh century, a revival similar in character to the revival of Buddhism among the Nyingmapas at the same time....
Notes to Chapter One Introduction to the Practice of Dzogchen
1. gCig brgyud, transmission to a single disciple only. On the Twenty-four Masters, all of whom become Jalupas 'ja'-lus-pa who realized the Rainbow Body 'ja'-lus , see Chapter Four in Reynolds, The Oral Transmission from Zhang-zhung 2005 . Unlike the other traditions of Bonpo Dzogchen, the Zhang-zhung snyan-rgyud was never a Terma gter-ma , or hidden treasure text, concealed during the eighth century persecution of Bon and rediscovered centuries later. For the traditional account of why this...
Notes to Chapter Two The Attaining of Buddhahood according to Sutra Tantra and
1. According to Lopon Tenzin Namdak, the more immediate aim of the practice of the Higher Tantras is creation, by way of the practices of the generation process bskyed-rim and the perfection process rdzogs-rim , of a Gyulu, or illusory body sgyu-lus comprised of mind sems and prana or subtle psychic energy rlung . Such a subtle psychic body has the form of one's Yidam yi-dam lha , or personal meditation deity, whether this form be peaceful or wrathful, male or female. This Yidam image...
The Mahayana View
According to the traditional cosmology found both in Bon and in Buddhism, there are three principal levels of existence in the universe 1 The Kamadhatu, or Desire World, where all sentient beings, including the gods or Devas, are dominated by their sense desires kama , 2 the Rupadhatu, or Form World, the abode of the gods who have exceedingly subtle bodies rupa and sense organs of light, and who are no longer dominated by gross sense desires kama , and 3 the Arupadhatu, or Formless World, where...
Thekchod and Thodgal
Most of the extant Bonpo texts dealing with Dzogchen are Upadesha. In the Upadesha or Manngagide man-ngag gi sde , the emphasis is put on Thekchod and Thodgal. Thekchod means entering into and remaining in the Natural State. This is mainly concerned with the state of primordial purity ka-dag , but Thodgal is the other half of Upadesha practice and refers to spontaneous self-perfected manifestation lhun-grub . Here the practitioner uses posture, breathing and gazing. But nevertheless, as the...
The View of Chittamatra
The basis of the Chittamatra system of the Yogachara school is compassion and Bodhichitta. Chittamatra also recognizes a basic Kunzhi kun-gzhi or Alaya, as well as a self-awareness, or Svasamvedana rang-rig , that is inherent in each moment of consciousness. Chittamatra uses these concepts such as Rang-rig and Kunzhi but, according to Madhyamaka, Shunyata is the highest view. However, the Chittamatra position does not recognize the Shunyata known to and defined by the Madhyamaka school the...
Rushan Exercises
Here we shall briefly introduce the Rushan practices of Dzogchen. Rushans are the main preparation for entering into Dzogchen and for discovering the Nature of Mind sems-nyid as opposed to mind or the thought process sems . This distinction is very important for Dzogchen. Rushans represent the real Ngondro sngon-'gro or preliminary practices for Dzogchen. Generally, we speak of external Rushans, internal Rushans, and secret Rushans. In the Bonpo tradition, these three kinds of Rushans are...
The Three Series of Dzogchen Teachings
In the three series of Dzogchen teachings rdzogs-chen sde gsum , that is, the Semde sems-sde , the Longde klong-sde , and the Manngagide man-ngag gi sde or Upadesha, the Natural State is precisely the same because it exists as the unification and inseparability dbyer-med of emptiness and awareness. However, the view in each of these three series of teachings is different because emphasis is placed on the one side or on the other. With such an emphasis, the process of realization takes longer...
Chittamatra and Dzogchen
The followers of Chittamatra assert that everything depends on mind sems and that there is nothing beyond mind. According to the Chittamatra view, everything that exists is connected with mind. It is mind-created that is their real view. According to them, if we see a blue color, the eye consciousness the subject side and the blue color the object side are inseparable, that is, they both arise from the same single karmic cause. Therefore, anything that is perceived is connected with mind,...
The Tantra View
In the Tantra system, we find a different method described where it is not necessary to be reborn first in the Akanistha heaven in order to obtain a subtle body of light. This method is known as Mayadeha, the Illusion Body or, in Tibetan, Gyulu sgyu-lus . In this case, during our lifetime here on earth, we do the practice of Dzogrim rdzogs-rim , which is the second phase of Tantric transformation, and we create in our heart center a very refined Illusion Body by way of a union of subtle prana...