32 From Shravakayana to Dzogchen, Earth & Sky

Olaso. So for the topic of this eight week retreat or topics I should say, you know it covers, welcome back Glen, good to see you again, you know that this covers the bandwidth from Shamatha to Vipashyana and Mahamudra but also Dzogchen because The Naked Awareness is the Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. So it’s quite a bandwidth, quite a spread. And in terms of the actual meditations we’re doing, we started and we’ve really lingered, in Asanga’s approach to Mindfulness of Breathing drawing from his presentation of this practice in the Sravaka Bhumi, the grounds of the Sravakas. So we’re actually starting in sravakayana practice. Likewise when we follow the spectrum from the four immeasurables to the four greats we started with loving kindness, sravaka teachings. So it’s something I really enjoy doing, it seems a very, very deep balance of drawing repeatedly on the most foundational, fundamental teachings of the Buddha as presented for example in the Pali Canon, the Sravakayana. They’re grounding, they’re firm, they’re solid, they’re a basis on which you could build a skyscraper touching the sky. But also touching the sky and the sky of the space is Dzogchen. And in fact the teachings of Linge Dorje for whom the Karma Chagme Rinpoche has written his commentary is called [? 01:32 Tibetan] space dharma, space dharma. And so earth and sky, earth and sky. And we’re making repeated allusions back to the foundational teachings and in this passage from the prajnaparamita sutra, on the four dhyanas, and the various type of siddhis that can be achieved by way of the fourth dhyana. We know that Karma Chagme Rinpoche says but this is not only the Sravaka, this is not only Mahayana, it’s not only Sravakayana, but also non Buddhist. Hindus, Hindu yogis, Bonpos , Sharmans and so forth. This is really common ground. But in the midst of this whole range of teachings I think it’s very important for those of us who are really intuitively drawn to Dzogchen to see that all of this is nested within the view of Dzogchen. So in case you thought maybe I was forgetting Dzogchen sometimes, no you were forgetting Dzogchen sometimes. [laughter] I wasn’t forgetting Dzogchen. Everything I’m teaching is nested in Dzogchen, right. I mean literally, because it’s only Dzogchen from my perspective, it’s only Dzogchen that completely encompasses all of these other yanas or vehicles including that of the Bonpos, the Sharmans, the Hindus and so forth and so on. It’s one that, it’s the perspective from which all of these other spiritual paths make sense. [03:00]

But as in physics if you look at quantum cosmology all the other branches of physics make sense from that perspective. But if you’re just studying quantum mechanics, quantum cosmology, it doesn’t make sense, you don’t see the larger view. If you understand 19th century physics, from that perspective 20th century physics doesn’t make sense, but 20th century physics from that perspective, 19th century makes sense. From Galileo, Newton doesn’t make sense but from Newton, Galileo makes sense. The higher encompasses the lower, the lower does not encompass the higher. Right, there’s an asymmetry there and it’s true everywhere but it’s certainly true in physics and it’s definitely true among these nine dhyanas within the Nyingma classification of the different paths. So you’ll recall that earlier when we were reading through Panchen Rinpoche and his portrayal of Mahamudra, the Vajrayana approach to Mahamudra. You might have found it a bit daunting, for good reason. And that is he is saying, well here he is referring to Mahamudra as in realizing emptiness with the primordial mind of clear light, right. From the perspective of rigpa he’s referring to that. And he said this, this is Vajrayana approach, and when are you ready for that? When is the time for that? When you’re fully accomplished in stage of generation and completion, you’re almost finished, now you put in the drop of Mahamudra, right. That sounds like it’s like - when will we ever get there? You know it can seem quite inaccessible. Sakya Pandita, the great Sakya Pandita, he looked around and he said -you know in the sources in India you don’t find any references to Mahamudra in a sutra context, it’s totally Vajrayana context. Within Vajrayana context it’s way, way up on the path, way up there in stage of completion, it’s not for beginners. This whole notion of total release and all of that it would seem to correspond to the fourth empowerment and that’s you’re almost finished, right. So once again it looks like it left us out. So it’s easy to feel daunted. But we keep on forgetting we’re daunted because we keep on suffering from amnesia. If we have in fact been introduced to the Dzogchen view. Similarly when Karma Chagme Rinpoche in the last passage, is referring to this, mind’s stunning, a ray of siddhis that can be achieved just by the fourth dhyana. Once again you going to feel ugh, the four dhyanas, it looks like those are out of reach. So all of that is very nice but then you know what chance do I have of achieving all four dhyanas? And then if you l into Buddhaghosa and you see the background for that, you see it’s not just four dhyanas. You actually should be fully trained in all of the dhyanas and the four absorptions in the formless realm and you should be fully versed, adept, expert at working with all of the different kasinas, I won’t explain that right now. Then once again it can be like - ugh totally daunted. Keep on forgetting, that’s because of amnesia. We keep on forgetting that all of this is couched within Dzogchen and if you look into Dzogchen your [? 06:23 Tibetan sem cho] comes back. Your [? 06:26 Tibetan sem cho] is the strength of your heart comes back. So let’s not forget where this is all coming from, the Dzogchen view. So here I’m giving myself a birthday present. I don’t need anybody else’s birthday presents. Honey is nice. I think I like honey, is it honey? Yeah I like honey, thank you, that’s enough. Thank you sweetie whoever gave me this. [laughter]

[06:55] Here’s from the Vajra Essence, this is just a refresher course, right. Here’s from the Vajra Essence, this is Padmasambhava, this is definitive. Within a spectrum from Sravakayana to the Dzogchen, the Dzogchen is the final word, the definitive word, ok. So here’s from Padmasambhava within Dzogchen, he’s definitive. Who’s more definitive than Padmasambhava, by way of Dudjom Lingpa, the greatest Dzogchen teacher in the 19th century, I think quite clearly, empirically evident. So here from the Vajra Essence, then bodhisattva, vajra of pristine awareness asked:

Oh teacher Bhagavan, if buddhas and sentient beings and all qualities of the path and fruition are non-other than the ground dharmakaya, the sugatagarbha. What is the purpose and the nature of the teachings on the many sadanas, mandalas, buddha fields, teachers and their retinues, and so forth. Please explain.

So if everything boils down to buddha nature, everything boils down to dharmakaya, the ground dharmakaya, pristine awareness, rigpa, what you already have. What’s the point of all those mandalas, and stage of generation practices, incredible visualizations and rituals? What’s the point of all of that if everything really boils down to sugatagarbha? But again, buddha nature. What’s the point? Are you interested in the answer? I am, enquiring minds want to know. And so he replied, Padmasambhava replied, Samantabhadra manifesting as Padmasambhava speaking to Dudjom Lingpa, he replied:

Oh vajra of pristine awareness for the nature of the ground sugatagarbha to be made manifest you may strive in various ways to create and transform things with your intellect. [as we see in stage of generation, as we see in dream yoga] Consequently all contrived experiences of bliss, luminosity, and non conceptuality [here’s shamatha] and of intentional dispersion, excitation, and scattering of scattering of laxity, dullness and torpor, [they’re the problems of shamatha right] and of pains, joys, and sorrows are forcefully aroused [there is the right, there’s the opening of the Pandora’s box right the dredging of the psyche all clear yeah, all very familiar] and of pains, joys, and sorrows are forcefully aroused until finally all thoughts are calmed in the nature of the ground, [the relative ground of course is the substrate consciousness right, and then] and primordially present consciousness is identified. [That’s when you’re poised to step over into vipashyana and then have pointing out instructions of rigpa] Such meditation entails transforming the nirmanakaya into the path, in which the state of naturally settled mindfulness is sustained. [you know about that, resting in the substrate consciousness and using that as your new base camp for everything else] Nowadays everyone regards this as their standard practice but the problem is that they do not attain the fruition of liberation. So once you’ve ascertained the view (that’s the Dzogchen view) once you’ve ascertained that, you must reveal the nature of the ground Samantabhadra. For this there are two possibilities. [now you really want to pay attention there are two possibilities, two avenues you can take] Directly identifying it in your own being [and this is just raising the pointing out instructions, realizing the view and proceed, that’s direct, ok very clear, shamatha, vipashyana and then directly pointing out, your rigpa, okay, there’s what’s happening] Directly identifying in your own being and identifying it in dependence upon, [there’s one] and identifying it [that is sugatagarbha, the first one is identifying it in your own being and the second one is identifying it in dependence upon the expedient path of the stage of generation. So that’s another route, you can follow either of these two routes] Oh vajra of pristine awareness for the direct identification within your own being, you first establish all the phenomena included in samsara and nirvana as emptiness. [so he’s laying it out in just like utter precision and brevity, he’s already spoken about, very clearly, you must settle your mind in its natural state. Don’t get half way, don’t get three fourths way, do it all the way, then establish all phenomena included in samsara and nirvana as emptiness, and that’s where you really bring in vipashyana, to realize the emptiness of all phenomena, with no exceptions] Once you have ascertained them as displays of the space of ultimate reality [these are all emerging from emptiness, from dharmadhatu, once you’ve realized that, you identify this state as the great revelation and apprehend your own nature. From that vantage point then you apprehend your own nature, as rigpa, dharmakaya] as a result you naturally settle in ground pristine awareness as the great freedom from extremes [from all extremes, all conceptual elaborations, from nihilism, substantialism, totally free] this is the swift path. [this is the Dzogchen path] this is the swift path, the dhyana of the great perfection. If you practice by resting naturally and effortlessly until the culmination of the dying process [if you just do that as soon as soon as you’ve realize rigpa, just rest there effortlessly, naturally until you slip right into the dying process, you will unquestionably become a buddha] on the other hand, if through the power of previous bad karma, you fall under the influence of distractions and spiritual sloth [that is you may identify rigpa and then pfff, forget about it, lose it, get caught up in other things] if that happens at the point of death you’ll die as an ordinary being. Now for the main practice, genuine knowledge and realization of the one taste of all of samsara and nirvana, the one taste, the equal purity of all samsara and nirvana in the ocean of the original ground (rigpa) is called the view of the vast expanse of space and this entails the manifestation of your own nature as the Dharmakaya devoid of signs. [No reified object. So that’s the view] As for meditation throughout beginningless lifetimes and samsara the original primordial ground Samantabhadra, has pervaded the mindstreams of all sentient beings just as sesame oil pervades sesame seeds. However under the influence of dualistic grasping and clinging to true existence, the mind becomes dimmed as if by darkness and deluded. But now apart from identifying your own nature there is nothing whatsoever on which to meditate and you thereby gain freedom for yourself. As a result of holding your own ground, freedom is experienced in the domain of pristine space unstructured and unmodified by the intellect and you are infinitely immersed in great self emergent primordial rest. [this is like space merging with space] Previously your intellect demarcated outer from inner and grasped at them as being distinct. Now ascertaining that there is no outer or inner you come upon the nature of great all pervasive openness which is called meditation free of the intellect and devoid of activity. In such a meditative state motionlessly rest your body without modifying it, like a corpse in a charnel ground. Let your voice rest unmodified dispensing with all speech and recitations as if your voice were a lute with its strings cut. Let your mind rest without modification naturally releasing it in the state of primordial being without altering it in any way. With these three, dispensing with the activities of body speech and mind, you settle in meditative equipoise that is devoid of activity. For that reason this is called meditative equipoise. [16:07]

So that’s Dzogchen, that’s absolutely quintessential Dzogchen. And that is viewing reality from the perspective of dharmakaya, of rigpa. And there’s no reference here, whatsoever, to having to first achieve and come to the culmination of the stage of generation or completion. It’s shamatha, you must have magnificent sanity, it’s realization of emptiness you can’t proceed without. You can’t proceed while still reifying phenomena in a delusional fashion. Then it’s pointing out instructions, and there’s the path. So one may wonder - well how does this fit in with those other teachings, the Mahamudra that wonderful, very erudite composition of Panchen Rinpoche talking about all these stages and stages, stage of generation, stage of completion and then Mahamudra and His Holiness the Dalai Lama comments on this in his first book on Dzogchen based on teachings that I attended from him back in 1990 on Dzogchen and he writes I quote:

As is said in an oral transmission by the great Lama Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, one of the great Rime lamas of the 19th - 20th century. When the great Nyingmapa adept Longchen Rabchung gives a presentation of the ground path and fruit, he does so mainly from the perspective of the enlightened state of a buddha. [so he’s presenting the whole path from the perspective of one who is already enlightened, okay, there’s one perspective, it’s not the only perspective though] Whereas the Sakyapa tradition is mainly from the perspective of the spiritual experience of a yogi on the path. [so it’s viewing the same path but from a lesser perspective but still one who is on the bodhisattva grounds, the bodhisattva path and then] The Gelugpa presentation, is mainly from the perspective of how phenomena appear to ordinary sentient beings. [So it’s not to say all that Gelugpas had a low, that Tsongkhapa has a lower state of realization, but he’s writing as if or writing in accordance with the way phenomena appear, if you’re an ordinary sentient being. Now if you’re an ordinary sentient being and you hear about buddha nature how does that appear to you? Potential, only. But if you’re viewing the whole issue of buddha nature from the perspective of a buddha, that’s not a potential that’s who you are already. And if you’re viewing buddha nature from the perspective of a person on the bodhisattva path, you’ll see it as potential that is manifesting.]

So His Holiness concludes here with reference to this statement by Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. His statement appears to be worthy of considerable reflection. Through it many misunderstandings can be removed.

So I think some of you might have slipped into the misunderstanding and His Holiness and Dudjom Lingpa and Padmasambhava just did their best to help you. So now I think it’s time, we are now venturing into what is it our third week, fourth week whatever, third week [laughter] something like that. Maybe it’s time to really step into the carriage of Padmasambhava by way of Dudjom Lingpa, step into the carriage taking awareness, appearances and awareness as the path, right. Because that’s the first, after the preliminaries that’s the one he’s suggesting. In sequence you take your mind as the path until your mind dissolves, and then you take ultimate reality, dharmata as your path, until you realize the emptiness of all of samsara and nirvana, and then you take rigpa as your path and become a buddha, ok. So let’s get comfortable. [20:14]

[21:36 ] Meditation bell rings three times.

In the context of Dzogchen and that is precisely the context of this practice and specifically within Dzogchen this practice is included in the cutting through, the first of the two phases, cutting through to original, pristine purity. Original purity of pristine awareness. From this perspective our ultimate refuge is our own pristine awareness and the motivation is relative bodhichitta in order to realize ultimate bodhichitta. So with this motivation let’s begin by settling body speech and mind in their natural state.

[23:47] When you come to the culmination of this threefold settling process and linger there in the simplicity of your own awareness at rest without focusing on any object, utterly at ease, loose, free of desire and aversion, free of thoughts concerning future and past, at ease, still and clear, resting in its own place, holding its own ground.

[25:29] And as a preamble to the method taught by Dudjom Lingpa, Padmasambhava, but one that he alludes to later on after he has finished his presentation of shamatha, let’s for a little while continue to rest in the stillness of our own awareness. Monitoring the overflow of the light of our awareness, illuminate the space of the body and gently peripherally noting the sensations throughout the body indicating the ebb and flow of the respiration. Like a child sitting on the beach watching the gentle waves washing up on shore and flowing back to the sea. The child is still and the waves come and go. So primarily rest, eighty percent rest in the stillness, self knowing, self illuminating stillness of awareness while peripherally noting, the fluctuations of the in and out breath.

[32:46] And now let’s make the transition to the main practice, taking the impure mind as the path, taking appearances and awareness as the path, settling the mind in its natural state, shamatha focused on the mind, all synonyms for the same simple practice. As we begin let your eyes be at least partially and gently open, soft and relaxed, your gaze vacantly resting in the space in front of you without focusing on any object. And again exactly as you did for the first half of this session, primarily let your awareness rest in its own nature, holding its own ground, but let the overflow of the light of your awareness illuminate the space of the mind and whatever events arise within that domain, the fluctuations the movements of the mind. And as Padmasambhava says - let your awareness be like a shepherd watching his flock spread out over a plain. When there’s no danger, the shepherd’s gaze is casual, relaxed, not penetrating or investigating. Alertness is aroused only when there’s danger and similarly here you let your awareness rest, relaxed, primarily resting in its own place, casually attentive to the space of the mind and whatever arises within it without any special enquiry or questions. Only when you see the practice is endangered by the wolves of laxity and excitation, only then do you arouse your vigilance and take the necessary steps to ward off these pitfalls, these dangers to the practice and as soon they’re gone, once again you simply rest. Eighty percent resting in the stillness of your awareness, self illuminating, self knowing, the peripheral awareness, the overflow, observing the movements of the mind and the space in which those movements occur.

[37:26] The object of mindfulness is the space of the mind and whatever movements, activities, arise within that space and we monitor the flow of mindfulness with introspection, alert to the occurrence of either excitation or laxity, as soon as we notice excitation - recall, relax, release and return. And as soon as you note retrospectively that the flow of cognizance, of clarity is fading, recall the remedy - refresh, restore and retain the flow of discerning mindfulness, the flow of cognizance. And let’s continue practising now in silence.

[44:47] Meditation bell rings three times.

So His Holiness in that quote from his book called Dzogchen, he’s quoted a non Gelugpa, a non Gelugpa, Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, he was the guru of many, many lamas but including Sogyal Rinpoche, he was his root guru, of Sogyal Rinpoche as I recall. But he was ‘Rime’, so he wasn’t Gelugpa, so maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t telling the truth [laughter] if you believe only the Gelugpas tell the truth then he’s suspect, right. So what about Tsongkhapa because he’s really hard core. I mean really hard core Gelugpas - Tsongkhapa all the way, beginning middle and end, only Tsongkhapa. I mean the really hard core ones, the ones who are suffering from extremely sectarian bias they think only the Gelugpa tradition, pure, all the other ones contaminated, especially by those Nyingmapas, yucky Nyingmapas. And the Kaygupas have been contaminated by the Nyingmapas the whole Kaygu, Nyingma oohh yucky. And even some of the Sakyapas, some of the Skyapas like Nyingmapa - yucky. At least the Gelugpas are pure, the real Gelugpas, who follow only Tsongkhapa. So what did Tsongkhapa say about Dzogchen? Well as it turned out Tsongkhapa received instructions on Dzogchen, from Vajrapani but he had a mediator and his mediator was the highly realized visionary lama Lodrak Drubchen Namkha Gyeltsen, the great Nyingma lama. So Tsongkhapa approaches a Nyingma lama for teachings on Dzogchen but rather than the Nyingma lama, the Nyingma lama just had a vision, like Tsongkhapa had visions of Manjushri, Dudjom Lingpa had visions of Padmasambhava, this lama had visions of Vajrapani. And so then he was just more like the mediator, like an interpreter between Vajrapani and Tsongkhapa. And Vajrapani taught Tsongkhapa, Dzogchen. So what did Tsongkhapa say about that? These teachings titled Garland of Supremely Healing Nectar, these teachings on Dzogchen or his references to them are included in Tsongkhapa’s collected works. And he praises these Dzogchen teachings and I quote: As being free of excess free of omission and free of error. In other words free of excess and omission, that is there is nothing superfluous nothing, no contamination, free of omission, it’s complete. And there is no error. In other words he says they’re perfect just as they are. And he had nothing more to say. That’s Tsongkhapa. And I’ve shown the source in his Collected Works. [48:34]

So people who say they’re following Tsongkhapa and reject Dzogchen are obviously not following Tsongkhapa. If you follow Tsongkhapa, follow Tsongkhapa, that’s what Tsongkhapa said. And that’s all he had to say about it, perfect as they are, he had nothing more to add right. The fifth Dalai Lama, great, great adept of the Gelugpa tradition, was a practitioner of Dzogchen, he taught Dzogchen. The Panchen Rinpoche is advocating Mahamudra drawing heavily from the Kagyu tradition. And the Panchen Rinpoche says, Among the various traditions Dzogchen are authentic. He said that do you remember, it leads to the same result. So contemporary, all who are contemporary Gelugpas who throw out Mahamudra throw out Dzogchen, they’re not even Gelugpas. If you don’t follow Tsongkhapa why call yourself a Gelugpa? It’s like throwing out Buddhist teachings on reincarnation, karma and so forth and saying -oh I’m still a Buddhist. Why are you calling yourself that? Why you do that? Why not just call yourself your self? If you throw out the core of the Buddhist teachings then why are you calling yourself a Buddhist? What’s the point? You’re just misleading yourself and everybody else. And if you throw out what Tsongkhapa himself said about Dzogchen and you say Oh I’m following Tsongkhapa, why you say that? Why don’t you just say you’re following yourself. That’s just sectarian bullshit. And it’s strange how people don’t learn. How much warfare, how much hatred, how much bloodshed there’s been over history of people holding exactly this type of view. Christians feeling we have the only way, we’ll just kill everybody who disagrees, Muslims doing the same, Jews doing the same, Buddhists doing the same and Hindus doing the same and it’s always with the same bleet - we have the only way, only we are pure and if you differ from us, we’ll either ignore you, subjugate you, convert you, or kill you. And that’s the history of religion. And you’d think we’d learn by now. For this is not religion, this is just delusion giving rise to so much misery. So, I have no patience for that. No sympathy for that, at all, wherever it’s coming from. Doesn’t matter whether you call yourself Buddhist, Gelugpa, Nyingma, anyone who thinks, we are the only ones pure, you’re just asking for warfare. And you’ll probably get it.

Olaso, that’s Tsongkhapa. Anybody have any qualms about it that’s Tsongkhapa in his own words. And I’ve even shown in his Collected Works, which volume in Tibetan. See for yourself. Yeah these are important. It’s so tragic when they take the one medicine that can free you from samsara and turn it into poison. And that’s what sectarianism does sometimes, takes the one medicine, this one hope for humanity, and turns that one medicine into poison just for more samsara and more misery, what could be sadder than that. I don’t care who does it. If I do it then shame on me, but anybody does it, I mean what is sadder than that, to take the one medicine that can actually heal us from all mental afflictions and turn that medicine into poison.

So let’s not do that. Oh very good, enjoy your day. See you this afternoon.

Transcribed by KrissKringle Sprinkle

Revised by Cheri Langston

Final edition by Rafael Carlos Giusti

Discussion

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