This book is a compilation of the Dzogchen teachings given by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche over several years in various parts of Mexico. We have translated and edited his talks, and from these, we have produced this book.
Ester Latorre Enbiz
Amalia Gómez Gómez
Beatriz Álvarez Klein
INTRODUCTION
The ancient knowledge of Dzogchen*, "the Great Perfection," is still little known in the Western world.
Although in recent years access to publications in Western languages on this subject has been increasing, the essential meaning of Dzogchen is still difficult for many Westerners to fully comprehend because it is very different from the materialistic worldview.
The teachings of the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet consist of three main paths: Sutra, the path of renunciation; Tantra, the path of transformation; and Dzogchen, the path of liberation.
These three paths originated from the three primordial Buddhas—the Buda of the Nirmanakaya, the Buda of the Sambhogakaya, and the Buda of the Dharmakaya*— because the knowledge of the sutric teachings was transmitted from the Nirmanakaya, the tantric teachings from the Sambhogakaya, and the Dzogchen teachings from the Dharmakaya.
The Buda of the Dharmakaya, Kuntu Zangpo*, originally transmitted Dzogchen knowledge to nine consecutive masters through mind-to-mind transmission. Subsequently, 24 masters, each in turn, received the knowledge through oral transmission. An essential way of teaching Dzogchen is through direct transmission, using minimal words and symbolic language.
Although some schools of Tibetan Buddhism today claim to practice Dzogchen, only the Nyingmapas and the Bonpos have a long history of lineage transmissions or texts on Dzogchen. Each of these two traditions has a particular lineage; however, both share the same principles of Dangelen and many of the practices.
According to the Nine Paths of Bon, Dzogchen is considered the highest form of teaching. For practitioners with the capacity, it offers the potential for liberation within a single lifetime and within a single body.
In Bon, there are three main Dzogchen lineages. They are known as: A Tri Dzogchen Zhang Zhung Nyan Gyud*
Each of these three is a separate lineage with different origins and unique teachings; however, all these teachings share identical principles.
The Dzogchen teachings of both Bon and Nyingma can be further divided into three categories, depending on the emphasis of the teachings:
Sem De teachings (mind series), which emphasize the aspect of emptiness. Long De teachings (space series), which emphasize the aspect of clarity. Men Ngak De teachings (quintessential instructions), which emphasize the inseparable state of emptiness and clarity. A simple way to explain the Dzogchen approach is to summarize its three primary principles:
Limited Vision (Dawa Thado!): From the Dzogchen perspective, each of us is already pure and complete, and nothing can change that state. However, most of the time, we experience a basic feeling of lacking something. Everything in society around us recognizes and corroborates the feeling of incompleteness, and encourages us to fill the void with material things instead of awakening us with knowledge.
With this fundamental misunderstanding, we wander in samsara trying to prove our identity and amass possessions, thereby only producing more pain, suffering, and the feeling of being completely trapped. Very often, we don't even realize the extent of our suffering.
The nature of our being is space: pure and complete, like the clear, limitless sky. The clouds of our thoughts obscure this clarity. We focus on the clouds, remaining ignorant of the sky, and thus feel dejected.
Spontaneous Meditation (Gompa Rangsal): Throughout our lives, we put great effort into being happy, peaceful, and loving, and into finally finding the answers to life and a connection with our deepest selves. But through the teachings, we come to realize that no matter how hard we try, these efforts are not bringing us any closer to our goals. This is because effort itself is a product of the conceptual mind, and the conceptual mind is incapable of directly connecting with and realizing the truth. As we practice being more open and exert less effort, we discover that the qualities we seek are present effortlessly, just as a peacock feather is naturally beautiful without requiring creative effort.
Flexible Behavior (Chodpa Lugpa): All our behaviors as human beings are conditioned by our family upbringing, our society, our studies, and the opinions of others. We feel trapped by these conditionings and believe we have to try hard to untie the conditional knots to find ourselves. As a result, our lives become full of effort, and our behavior lacks flexibility.
Unconditioned space, however, has a quality of spontaneity. When we can connect with that unconditioned space, with unlimited vision, a quality of spontaneity naturally arises within us. We become more open and flexible.