Longde Teachings: Based on the Original Texts by Vairochana and Dzin Dharmabodhi

Citation preview

C ,.....!1 ...........

texts

H N by U airochana and Dzin

Namgyalgar 1997

Series of Teachings 155E

This publication is intended for those who have already received trans­ mission from the Master of the practices it contains. We strongly urge you not to circulate it outside that group of people and to treat it with the utmost respect.

Transcribed by Francesca Vannini and Maurizio Mingotti Edited by Adriano Clemente and Igor Legati Translated into English by Desmond Barry Cover by Paolo Fassoli and Fulvio Ferrari Drawings pp. 49, 66, 67 by Paola Minelli Drawing p. 25 by Nick Dudka

© 2001

Shang Shung Fdizioni

58031 Arcidosso GR, Italy tel: 0564 966039 e-mail: shangshunged @tiscalinet.it All rights of translation, reproduction and partial or total use in any form whatsoever are reserved in all countries.

IPC- 181 ENO I

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Approved by the International Publications Commit­

tee of the Dzogchen Community founded by Ch()gyal Namkhai Norbu

CHOGYALNAMKHAINORBU

LONGDE TEACHINGS BASED ON THE ORIGINAL TEXTS BY V AIROCIIANA AND DziN DIIARMABODIII

Namgyalgar 199 7

•

·�·'t'l�� �., ..

Shang Shung Edizioni

CONTENTS

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1. Introduction 2. The Heruka Ngondzog Gya1po

25

3. The Four Das, the upadesha ofVairochana

34

4. The instructions ofDzin Dharmabodhi

47

5. The methods for overcoming defects

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6. The four positions connected with the four

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syllables A, HO, HA, YE

7. How to do a session of the practice of the Four Das

69

8. Experiences of the Practice

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APPENDIX TheVairochana's upadesha on the FourDas

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Index of Tibetan Terms

91

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1. INTRODUCTION

Dzogchen Longde was transmitted by Garab Dorje but the original root text is the tantra called Longchen Rabjam

Gyalpoi Gyiid (T he King of the Infinite Universe). Another famous text is the tantra called Namkha Tang Nyampai Gyiid

(Equal to Space). These root tmllras were transmitted by the master Ngondzog Gyalpo in his Ninnanakaya manifes­ tation about 5000 years before Buddha Shakyamuni. Natu­ rally, during Buddha Shakyamuni's time the teaching was no longer around but only what is called the nyengyiid in Tibetan, which means an oral teaching made up of only a few words. Today there are many kinds of teachings which are nyen­

gyiids. For example, in the modern Bon tradition the teach­ ings which some masters have received through visions are called nyengyiids. In the Nyingma and other traditions the­ ses teachings are called tagnangs or 'pure vision.' Many Buddhist traditions call certain important or very secret teach­ ings nyengyiids and these are rarely ever transmitted. So to­ day there is a little confusion about what the word nyengyiid means. In the Dzogchen tradition, the word nyengyiid has a very precise meaning. Even before Tonpa Ngondzog Gyalpo, who was the penultimate of the twelve primordial masters (followed only by Buddha Shakyamuni), many masters trans­ mitted many teachings and many tantras, but these masters lived in very ancient times. Many of these masters lived in dimensions other than the human one, and transmitted their teachings in those dimensions. Then, over time, this possi­ bility of transmission ended probably because of changes in

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the time and circumstances, for example, just as happened in China during the Cultural Revolution. Thus, over thou­ sands of years, everything changed and the teachings disap­ peared but some nyengviid'> survived. For example, in a tantra of Manjushri, there is a phrase yeshe migchig trima med: 'the single eye of wisdom is pure.' We use this phrase as the symbol of the Shang Shung Edizioni. Originally this was a nyengyiid. Today, this tantra of Manjushri has disappeared,

but the phrase has come down to us due to many practitio­ ners committing it to memory. During the Cultural Revolution, people could find them­ selves being accused of reciting mantras and they weren't even allowed to move their lips. So you see, in times like these, it is difficult to transmit the teachings or even to speak about them. But some people knew a few secret phrases which were like a key to communicate the teaching, a nyengyiid of just a few words, for example, 'the single eye

of wisdom is pure.' The single eye of wisdom is our pres­ ence, the nature of mind, our potentiality; and knowing this one can always go deeper into it. Thus, at certain times, people interested in the teachings spoke secretly with a master who whispered a few very important words into their ears, which was like

a

key, and then there was an explanation of

the meaning and a certain practice to do. Thus, teachings of this kind survived and they are called nycngyiids. At the time ofGarab Dotje, many ancient nyengyiids were still in exist­ ence which had not been transmitted by Buddha Shakya­ munt. For example, the Dzogchen tradition exists in the Bon tradition. When I say this, many Buddhists criticise me say­ ing that, if this was the case, then the origin of Dzogchen would be Bon because Bi)n predated Buddhism. It certainly

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does not mean this because only a nyengyiid of Dzogchen exists in the Bon tradition. In modern Bon you can find Semde, Longde and Upadesha, Tantra, Prajfiaparamita, etc., but this is not authentic Bon. In authentic Bon there is only a nyengyiid of Dzogchen which is called the Oral Transmis­ sion of Shang Shung: twelve verses in which the base, the way and the fruit etc. are explained. This is the real Dzog­ chen which we find in Bon. Even at the time of Garab Dorje, there were many nyen­ gyiids. Today we use these nyengyiids above all in the Dzog­ chen Semde because many of the original texts have disap­ peared. In the Dra T halgyur Tantra (Transcendental Sound) it is said that there are thirteen solar systems, called thalwas (dimensions 'beyond'), where the teachings beyond cause and effect are still transmitted. So Dzogchen does not only exist just on Earth. Here on Earth there are 60-70 principal tantras of Dzogchen, but many others exist in other dimen­ sions of the universe. Thus, at the time of Garab Dorje, the Dzogchen tantras had disappeared and only nyengyiids remained. Garab D01je is considered to be a manifestation of Buddha Shakyamuni because the latter prophesied that there would be a master who would transmit the teachings beyond cause and effect. Furthennore, many Dzogchen tantras call Garab Dorje an emanation ofVajrasattva orVajrapani. So Garab Dorje was not an ordinary person who simply followed a master from a young age and then through meditation reached enlighten­ ment. From the age of five or six or before he lost his milk teeth, Garab Dorje spontaneously recited the tantra, Dmje Sempa Namkha Che, a very brief but important Dzogchen Semde root tantra. Dorje Sempa is Vajrasattva who repre­ sents our primordial state. Vajra is our true condition. Namkha

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Che means total space. Therefore the title of the tantra is l11e Total Space of'the Vajra: the total integration of the uni­ verse, the self-perfected state of every individual. from infancy Garab Dorje recited this !antra and there­ fore it is easy to understand that he was not an ordinary child. When he was seven years old, he told his mother that he wished to debate the Buddhist masters at the court of the King of Oddiyana, but his mother told him that he couldn't do that because he was too young and he hadn't even lost his milk teeth yet. Many masters were curious, and surprised, to have heard Garab D01je recite that tantra and a few of them were quite disturbed, because the tantra spoke of a teaching which was beyond cause and effect; was concerned with the real nature; and described a non-gradual path. They said that this might be a very dangerous teaching because Buddha spoke of a gradual path, cause and effect, karma, taking vows and controlling oneself by observing rules. These teachers were very worried. News of Garab Dorje arrived in India where many pandits studied in the famous Buddhist univer­ sity ofNalanda. Some of them were very worried upon hear­ ing the meaning of the tantra which this little boy was recit­ ing and they decided to see whether the rumors could be verified. Manjushrimitra, one of the most important of the

pandits, and others of his colleagues undertook the long jour­ ney to Oddiyana. When they arrived, the p an dits met Garab Dorje and began to argue philosophy with him. He replied with just a few words. Manjushrimitra, who had a karmic connection with him, immediately realised the meaning of his teaching, and instantly woke up. Instead of debating him, he became his disciple along with others of the group, who stayed for a long time in Oddiyana. Garab D01je began to teach to this group and Manjushri-

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mitra became one of his most important disciples. Manju­ shrimitra, who was very sorry to have had such a bad inten­ tion in going to Garab Dorje only to argue with him, asked how he might purify his negative action. Garab Dorje told him not to worry about it; and because Manjushrimitra was the best pandit of the Yogachara school at that time, he told him to write a book explaining the knowledge and principles of the Dzogchen teaching by using the language of the Yo­ gachara and Buddhist philosophy. So Manjushrimitra, in order to purify his evil action, wrote the book called the Do/a Sershiin (Pure Gold Extracted From

Ore) which today is considered to be an important text of Dzogchen Semde, almost like a tantra1• It's a rather difficult text written in philosophical language, but it is very impor­ tant . Manjushrimitra spent the rest of his life practising Dzog­ chen and he received all of Garab Dorje's teachings. Natu­ rally, Garab Dorje was a Nirmanakaya manifestation and didn't write books as a scholar would but recited all the teach­ ings and all the tantras which existed in ancient times and were no longer present on Earth. Because Manjushrimitra and other students wrote down everything he said, today we have many tantras, even if we don't have them all. And of­ ten, we still have the so-called lungs for those tantras of which we don't have the original texts. The lungs are made up of a few chapters which contain the principal points of the tantras and most of these lungs were transmitted by Garab Dorje. Others were transmitted by Manjushrimitra, and later by Jfianasutra, Shri Simha etc. or even by realised beings beyond space and time who are capable of having contact with the Rigdzins and realised beings of other dimensions. This text has been translated into English by Kennard Lipman in Primordial Experience, Shambala, Boston 1987.

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These masters have transmitted a few chapters of the origi­ nal tantras rather than the whole text. An extract such as this is ca lied a lung. The Dzogchen teachings in Tibet were transmitted by Guru Padmasambhava, whose principal master was Shri Simha. It was Shri Simha who transmitted the Upadesha teachings to him. In the story of Padmasambhava, it is said, he had eight manifestations, among whom was Guru Padma Gyalpo, and Guru Shakya Senge; each of whom has his own story and transmitted various teachings. This is a little diffi­ cult to understand, but, in my opinion, Padmasambhava had different manifestations at different times. Each time he was known as something different: such as Loden Chogsed, or Nyimai Odzcr, or Senge Dradrog, over a period of many centuries. The birth ofPadmasambhava was said to be eight years after the parinirvana of the Buddha. Then, during the period of the Kingdom ofTibet, Padmasambhava was a dis­ ciple of Shri Simha. In effect, it is thought that Padmasam­ bhava lived for many centuries, but I 'm not sure of that. I think that he manifested at different times and in different ways, the last of which was Guru Padmasambhava who went to Tibet. Padmasambhava is also considered to be a direct student of Garab Dorje but many years and generations of masters came between Garab D01je and Shri Simha. I I owever it was, Padmasambhava principally transmit­ ted the teachings of the Dzogchen Upadesha when he was in Tibet, but he also transmitted the principles of the Semde and Longde. He advised his student, Vairochana, who was very intelligent and learned very quickly, to learn Sanskrit and the language ofOddiyana. So Vairochana went to India and Oddiyana and he met many masters, found many texts, and translated them into Tibetan.

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In Tibet, at the time of Padmasambhava, there hadn't been any Dzogchen tantras. There were only Upadesha teach­ ings which it is considered were taught by Guru Padmasam­ bhava, but there were no Semde or Longde texts. As a re­ sult, Vairochana went to India and Oddiyana, met Shri Simha and received many teachings and when he returned to Tibet, he transmitted Semde and Longde. I Ie had many problems because those masters who were more connected to the Sutra teachings, particularly those close to the King, created a lot of difficulty for him. Thus, Vairochana could not stay in Central Tibet, and was exiled to East Tibet because his teach­ ing was considered to be heretical. Later, however, the King ofTibet invited Vimalamitra, an important Dzogchen mas­ ter, into the kingdom. At first, Vimalamitra gave Sutra teach­ ings and only taught the gradual path. This was because, at that time in Tibet, there was a great deal of confusion and it was not possible to transmit Dzogchen directly. Vimalami­ tra also wrote a text on gomrim or the gradual path. At that time, Padmasambhava had already left Tibet and Dzogchen was not accepted due to the prevalence of the Sutra and Tantra points of view. Later however, Vimalamitra, who was not really a teacher of the gradual path, transmitted the Dzog­ chen teachings. Thus the king understood that Vairochana was in the right and he invited him back into the kingdom. Once more, Vairochana could continue to translate and to transmit the teachings and he principally transmitted the texts of Semde and Longde. Semde, Longde and Upadesha are the three series of Dzogchen. Throughout his life, Garab Dorje transmitted the Dzogchen teachings and when he manifested the Rainbow Body he authorised Manjushrimitra to make a collection of all his teachings. He also transmitted to him the three essen-

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tial principles summed up in three verses: direct introduc­ tion, don't remain in doubt, and continue in the state of con­ templation. Manjushrimitra understood that the three prin­ ciples ofGarab Dorje also represented a system to teach and apply Dzogchen. Thus, he subdivided all the tantras and lungs of Dzogchen transmitted by Garab Dorje into three series: the first series was connected with the first principle; the second series to the second principle; and the third series to the third. The first principle corresponds to the Dzogchen Semde. Sem means mind, de means series: therefore, the series of teachings on the mind. But its true name should be Chang­ chubsemde. Chang means pure, chub means perfect, sem means mind, the three together mean pure mind or pure con­ dition, which is known as bodhichitta in Sanskrit. Bodhi­ chitta has a different meaning in the Dzogchen teachings than it does in the Sutra. In Sutra, it is divided into two kinds: relative and absolute. Absolute bodhichitta is the real knowl­ edge of emptiness or shunyata and is very close to the mean­ ing of changchubsem or bodhichitta in Dzogchen. Relative bodhichitta has two aspects: the bodhichitta of intention and the bodhichitta of application. First we have the intention to do something good in order to obtain realisation, and then, with this aim, we enter into action and we do something in practice. Relative bodhichitta is the most famous of the two and means to cultivate compassion. Absolute bodhichitta is considered to be something like realisation, the final goal. But that which is practised is relative bodhichitta in both its aspects of intention and application. In many original lungs or tantras of Dzogchen, the word Dzogchen is never used. One finds rather changchubsem or bodhichitta. We translate bodhichitta by 'the primordial

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state.' Chang means purified, but in the real sense, our own real nature is pure from the beginning. There is nothing to purify. Chub means perfected, but there's nothing to better or develop, it's perfect from the beginning. Everything is already perfect in the nature of the mind. This is true bodhi­ chitta. Now, in the real sense dzog means perfection and chen means total, therefore dzogchen, changclwbsem and bodhichitta have the same meaning. Bodhichitta means our primordial state, our real nature. Thus, we should not under­ stand bodhichitta as relative bodhichitta. In the tantras and lungs of Dzogchen, the term bodhichitta always means the primordial state, our own real nature. For this reason, Garab Dorje talked about direct intro­ duction. How can the student have this knowledge or be in­ troduced to this state? This comes through experiences. The first experience, the most well-known, is emptiness. In the Sutra teaching, one speaks of emptiness, and first of all they explain practices like Shine, the calm state. Why? Because usually we are confused or agitated. This is our usual condi­ tion and so the first thing we need to do is to relax. Through fixation, we arrive at the calm state. When we are calm, we find the void, because in the calm state there is nothing but the void. Then, in the emptiness, we slowly become aware of movements, thoughts, manifestations of clarity, and thus we get to know the other experiences, such as the experi­ ence of clarity, and finally the experience of sensation which is more connected with the physical level. But first we have the experience of the calm state, the void. There are various systems in the Dzogchen Semde. Prin­ cipally one explains the Four Contemplations: nepa, the calm state, then miyowa, nyamnyid and lhundrub. Finally, one arrives at the state of integration. But sometimes, we don't

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speak about the Four Contemplations, and we simply say to remain in the calm state, or Shine, and to observe the vari­ ous experiences connected to the five elements. There are at least three distinct systems in the Dzogchen Semde, but they are all initially linked to the experience of emptiness. All these teachings

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tantras, lungs, or the simple advice of the

masters such as Garab Dorje, Shri Simha, Jfianasutra or other Mahasiddhas who have had the experiences - all together constitute Dzogchen Semde which is connected to the first principle of Garab Dorje. Then there is the second principle which is 'not remain­ ing in doubt.' Through the experience, we discover thing directly, not only intellectually. For example, it is impos­ sible to know how sugar tastes if we have never had the experience of a sweet taste. We can read a lot of books which describe sweetness, we can study it and have a lot of ideas about it, but we will never arrive at a real knowledge of it like this. If we put a piece of chocolate on our tongue how­ ever, we discover it concretely and at that moment, we know what sweetness is and we don't need any more to change our ideas about what it is and what it's not. Many students who follow the teachings say, "Oh, I'm a Sakyapa," or "I'm a Gelugpa student." Then, when they fol­ low the Dzogchen teaching, they feel like they need to change something; that they have to follow or accept another path. Perhaps they find it more interesting than the Gelugpa school and so it seems that there is something to change. The first time I went to India, I met a French nun who had been a Catholic. Then somehow she became a Therava­ din and she spent many years in Thailand. She moved to India and she became a student of a Kagyiidpa lama. She stayed there for a few years and learned Tibetan really well,

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but then she said that she wasn't satisfied and she went to see a Nyingmapa lama in Sikkim. She followed him then, and said that she had become a Nyingmapa. When I met her, she had been thinking about becoming a Sakyapa and some­ one had told her that I was a Sakyapa. In actual fact, I spent many years in a Sakyapa monastery, my college was princi­ pally Sakyapa, so I know the Sakyapa tradition very well and I've received all the transmissions. I don't know who told her this. I came to meet her because she wanted to fol­ low

a

Sakyapa lama, but at that moment, I didn't have any

time. I wasn't a teacher. I just wanted to visit India, that's all. So off she went. Two or three years later someone told me that she had become a Hindu. J was really surprised. So many people feel that they have to change something, but if we have this idea it means that we haven't understood the real meaning of the teaching, and that we have never entered into real understanding which is always the same no matter what. This doesn't mean that the ways of practising and explaining the teaching are the same. Naturally, there are hundreds of differences, just within the Nyingmapa school there are a lot of differences and even within the Gelugpa school etc. but the substance, the essence of the teaching, is always the same. There is nothing to change. When we discover this, we don't have problems with any­ body. When we taste sugar, we understand it directly and we aren't dependent any more on someone else's information. T hus, we don't have any more problems. Dzogchen Longde is linked to the principle of 'not re­ maining in doubt.' Teachings of this type, in particular the

tantras Namklza Tang Nyampai Gyi"id (Equal to Space) and Longchen Rabjam Gyalpoi Gyiid (T he King of the Infini te Universe) and many other texts on the experiences of the

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masters, constitute all together the series of the Dzogchen Longde. Now, both Dzogchen Semde and DzogchenLongde come from Oddiyana by way of Vairochana. Today, how­ ever, the way to apply Longde is a little different compared to the time of Vairochana. At that time, Longde was intro­ duced in a more Dzogchen way, a purer way; but then Longde became mixed up with Tantrism. In the beginning it wasn't like that. For example, when Vairochana was invited to return from East Tibet to Central Tibet, he met an old monk who was 85 years of age. This monk was interested in following the Dzogchen teachings transmitted by Vairochana and Vimalamitra but he had never met either of these two teachers previously. He had met Yudra Nyingpo, however, a student ofVairochana, who had given him some transmissions. But Yudra Nyingpo had told him that he needed to meet the master Vairochana for himself. So the monk went off to look for him but he was already very old by the time he met him, and thinking that he wouldn't be able to follow him, he asked him for a blessing so that he might meet his teaching in a future life. ButVairochana told him that knowledge of the Dzogchen teaching didn't depend on age or instruction and he transmitted to him a briefLongde teaching. Then, he had him put on a meditation belt and to use a stick to control his body; and he gave him another stick called a tsulshing. A tsulshing is a stick which has a

concave rest at the top like a half-moon, where you can rest your chin. You take up a position with the knees raised and put the bottom of the stick on the ground between the legs and with these three elements (stick, belt and

tsulshing) it's

possible to stay in position for a long time. Vairochana wrote a few verses on the old monk's stick. These few verses gave the essential meaning ofLongde, and

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Pang Mipham Giinpo

the old monk, called Pang Mipham Gonpo, after doing that practice in a very simple way, realised in a short time. He lived on for a long time in good health and finally mani­ fested the Rainbow Body, leaving behind, as is typical, only hair and nails. He had very few students because he was not a really famous teacher. He became famous only after hav­ ing attained the Rainbow Body. Sometimes in Sutra teach­ ing or in some tantric practices, and also in the Dzogchen

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teaching when one only practises Tregchod and not the prin­ ciple of integration, or one does the practice of unification with the state of emptiness, there is a realisation in which the body disappears. ln Tibetan, this was called Iii dultren

deng. Lii means 'physical body,' dultren means 'little atoms,' and deng means 'to enter' into the atoms. This means that gradually the body disappears into the emptiness. But this is not the Rainbow Body. With the Rainbow Body, the physi­ cal body disappears because it enters into the real nature of the five elements. The five elements are the five colours. Because this is so, then even if the material body disappears, its form is maintained by the five colours. Some people think that everything disappears into the five colours and I've even seen a tangka of Padmasambhava in which there is a single central point surrounded by five colours, but it isn't like that. The form remains, the eyes, the nose etc. perfectly. Anyway, because there is only the nature of the elements, ordinary people can't see the Rainbow Body. The body seems to have disappeared because people don't have the capacity to see the essence, the nature of the elements. If we have a little clarity, or some kind of realisation, we can easily see the Rainbow Body. Through clarity, it is always visible. The only remains are the nails and hair, that is the impurities of the physical body which have already come out of the body it­ self. The phy sical body enters into the pure dimension but the impurities remain behind. Finally, there is another kind of realisation which is not the ordinary Rainbow Body and is called the Great Transfer or phowa chenpo. Some accounts say that Garab Dorje realised the Great Transfer, others say that he realised the Rainbow Body. No­ body really knows. Vimalamitra and Padmasambhava, ac­ cording to the biographies, manifested the Great Transfer, in

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which case death doesn't even manifest at all. In the simple Rainbow Body, death manifests firstly, and after death, the physical body melts like a piece of ice in the sun. It dis­ solves very slowly into the real nature of the elements, but the fom1 remains the same. Sometimes it takes a week, some­ times less. For example, Nyagla Pema Diindul, who was the teacher of two of my teachers - Changchub Dmje and Ayu Khandro- announced to his students that he would be dead by the end of the month. He invited them to join him for the time that remained. They all went to him and did Ganapujas for many days in order to purify their relationships with the master and the other students and all eventual problems that might be linked to the samaya. The master gave them a lot of advice which can be found in the book of his songs. At the end, he said that his time had come and that he would go up the sacred mountain where he had discovered many of his terma teachings. His students asked him to stay longer because they needed him but the master replied that his time had come. What was important was that they collaborated with him and followed the teaching. So they all went up the mountain together and when they arrived at his chosen place, the master asked his students to pitch his tent, which was small, like the one used by Chod practitioners. He asked them to sew up the entrance to the tent so that wild animals couldn't enter it. Finally, he told them to go away and to practice Guruyoga and Ganapuja. The students did what the master told them to do and after a week they began to see a lot of rainbows on the mountain. They went up to the tent and inside, all they found were hair and nails. Hundreds of people were present at that event. That was how Nyagla Pema Di.indul became famous. Following that, many people claimed to be his students, but when the master was alive, he had very few. 21

My uncle, Togden Ogyen Tendzin, a good Dzogchen prac­ titioner, and a student of Adzam Drugpa, practised a lot of Yantra Yoga, contemplation and integration. When I was small, I stayed with him in a retreat place for a few months. I remember that I saw him in Yoga positions and I tried to

play with him because I was really bored and there was noth­ ing to do. Sometimes, while he was sitting naked, I went up and pinched him and then ran away. Before leaving Tibet, I met him and spent a few weeks with him, mostly in order to clear up a lot of doubts I had about Yantra Yoga. I also re­ ceived teachings from him. When I was seven years old, I received my first Dzogchen teachings from him: Upadesha teachings and the whole series of the Longchen Nyingthig. He too manifested the Rainbow Body at the time of the Cul­ tural Revolution. At that time, my uncle lived in a place called Yidlhung in the district of Derge, in the house of a famous noble family. The head of the family was a Dzogchen prac­ titioner who was very influential within the Chinese gov­ ernment offices. He lived in a large mansion. My uncle lived on the top floor of that building and he stayed in retreat for many years. During the Cultural Revolution, he stayed there. He didn't

nm

away and so the revolutionaries arrested him

because no-one was allowed to practice. They forced him to undergo public criticism. Some Tibetans who worked in the Chinese offices knew him and gave their guarantees for him. So Togden was released but he didn't know where he could go. Then a government official found him a place in a house that was owned by a nomad, and my uncle went to live there. Every weekend, the government official went to the house to bring him something to eat and to check up on him be­ cause he had given his guarantee to the Chinese authorities. One day, a different Chinese official wanted to visit him.

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The two officials knocked on the door but no-one answered. T hey immediately thought that Togden might have

nm

away

and they broke down the door. All they saw were Togden 's clothes on the bed. Then they carefully unfolded the clothes and found a tiny body inside. T hen they left. The Tibetan government official who was my uncle's guarantor gave a report to the authorities, but then, fearing the consequences, he escaped to the north and a year later, he arrived in Ladakh. From there, he went down to India and into Nepal, where he met Lama Sala, one of the best of Togden 's students. Later, Lama Sala, with whom I was in correspondence, wrote to me that Togden was dead and that he had realised the Rain­ bow Body. I heard no more news until 1978 because there was no communication between India and Tibet. Then I heard a report from Derge that a government official and some soldiers, having heard that Togden was dead and that only a small body remained, went to the house; but when they ar­ rived, they found only nails and hair. This is really the Rain­ bow Body. The Chinese authorities said that this was a strange and unknown phenomenon. In any case, they should have made a report to the Central Government, but they didn't do that and so officially, nothing happened. As you see, even in our times, it's possible to realise the Rainbow Body. It's not some­ thing that belongs to ancient times. In the past, many Dzogchen Longde practitioners mani­ fested the Rainbow Body but late Dzogchen practitioners always used the methods of the Upadesha while the Semde and Longde remained only on the level of transmission. For example, when I received the transmissions of Longde and Semde, there were only the actual transmissions and the prac­ tices connected with them were rarely done. In fact, with the

23

passage of time, Dzogchen Upadesha has developed more and more while in earlier times, it was much less well known. Why is this? In ancient times,Vimalamitra realised the Great Transfer and his student Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo, the Rainbow Body. But then, maybe there was a problem in the transmission, no-one really knows, and for five generations, there was no further manifestation of the Rainbow Body. At a certain point, the great master and terton, Chetsiin Sengei Wangchug dis­ covered many termas of the Dzogchen Upadesha, and ac­ cording to his biography, he had contact with the Rainbow Body ofVimalamitra for a period of three months, and from him he received the transmission of all the Dzogchen Upa­ desha. In particular, he received the tantras of the Dzogchen Upadesha, and at the end of his life, he realised the Rainbow Body. Since then, the lineage has begun again and there have been many manifestations of the Rainbow Body. Conse­ quently, numerous practitioners have followed the Upade­ sha. Anyway, the transmission of Longde and Semde has never been interrupted. The Dzogchen Upadesha is linked to the third principle ofGarab Dorje, 'continue in the state of contemplation.' For this reason, there are not many introductory explanations in the Upadesha as there are in the Semde, where in order to reach knowledge, one goes one step at a time. In the Upade­ sha, there is the empowerment and the direct introduction like the rigpai tsal wang. This is considered sufficient. Then immediately, there is the Tregchod and Thodgal.

24

2. THE HERUKA NGONDZOG GYALPO

At the time of Pang Mipham Gonpo and his students the tantric practices of transformation were not used very much. From that time on however, Longde practitioners began to use the practice of the Heruka Ngondzog Gyalpo, a mani­ festation ofTonpa Ngondzog Gyalpo, a Nirmanakaya who had transmitted the tantras of the Dzogchen Longde. This 25

was begun, more or less, in a lineage of the Dzogchen teach­ ings connected with the master Dzin Dharmabodhi. At that time, in India or Oddiyana, there was a Dzogchen master called Avadhutipa, a very special practitioner of Ngondzog Gyalpo. Avadhutipa transmitted to Dzin Dharmabodhi the practice of Ngondzog Gyalpo, and so Dzin Dharmabodhi, who was a great practitioner ofDzogchen Longde, integrated the practice ofNgondzog Gyalpo into Longde. This is why, when we receive the transmission of Longde, we also re­ ceive the initiation ofNgondzog Gyalpo. There are very for­ mal initiations in the Anuttara Tantra style but there is also a more essential introduction. In certain cases Ngondzog Gyalpo is visualised for Guruyoga. Remember that the most important element in the Dzogchen teaching is Guruyoga and Guruyoga is used to give direct introduction to the pri­ mordial state. The practice of the Heruka Ngondzog Gyalpo is now very widely used. For example, inAnuyoga, the Heruka Ngondzog Gyalpo can have different forms and can be dark red in colour, but in the Dzogchen Longde, he is always joyous and has a golden colour. His manifestation has one very spe­ cific characteristic. In the mandala, the golden Heruka Ngondzog Gyalpo is at the centre, and the Ilerukas of the four families- Vajra, Ratna, Padma and Karma- are found, as usual, to the east, south, west and north. Normally, the central figure is turned towards the direction connected with his or her family and colour. For example, if he were red, that is of the Padma family, he would be turned towards the west; if he were white, to the east, etc. The golden Ngondzog Gyalpo is always turned towards the east, but here it is ex­ plained that if one should be looking at the golden Ngondzog Gyalpo from the east, he would appear to be white; looking

26

at him from the north, he would appear to be green and so on. In the Dzogchen teachings it is said that this is a mani­ festation of the

dang energy. The real meaning is that the

Heruka has no colour, colour symbolizes the direction and the circumstances. However, when we do this transformation, Ngondzog Gyalpo is golden, luminous and holds a

vajra in the right

hand and a bell in the left. There is also a version with a

vajra in the right hand and a kapala in the left, but in the vajra and bell is more often used. Ngondzog Gyalpo's vajra has nine points like that ofDorje Legpa. This type of vajra is considered to be very ancient Longde the figure with

and is more connected with the Nyingma tradition. The five points represent the five Dhyani Buddhas, the five aggre­ gates transformed into the five Buddhas whereas the nine points represent the nine vehicles of realisation of the Nyingma tradition. We don't know if this intellectual expla­ nation is true or not. Ngondzog Gyalpo is a very ancient form of Heruka and who knows if the nine vehicles were in existence at that time. Ngondzog Gyalpo is in Yab- Yum union, and his Yum is called Dewa Tobdenma in Tibetan. Sometimes the Yum is blue in colour but in the Dzogchen Longde, both Yab and Yum are the same colour. Sometimes it is not specified what the Yum has in her hands, but in some descriptions it is said that she has a right and a

damaru in the kapala in the left. For the transmission and the

empowerment it is necessary to do the Guruyoga, so it is useful to know these things. This transformation has many unique characteristics. While the seed syllable is normally connected with one of the five Dhyani Buddhas such as OM, HUM, TRAM, HRI or AH, in this case the seed syllable is AOM. This syllable

27

has five colours. On top, there is a blue circle, then there's a white half-moon, then the 0 symbol is yellow, followed by a red A, and an A chung which is green. So we pronounce AOM (not OM), and we transform ourselves with this sound and we do the Guruyoga. We have seen that the colour of Ngondzog Gyalpo is related to the family direction from which he is viewed. In the same way, AOM is made up of five colours and represents all five wisdoms. Even if, as you know, the practice ofLongde does not use the way of transformation, this method is used principally because the Longde tantras were transmitted by Ngondzog Gyalpo. Even if we only do contemplation, without any tantric style of practice, we still do Guruyoga with Ngondzog Gyalpo. T herefore we need to have the empowerment or initiation for this. The initiation is more connected with trans­ formation and tantric practice, whereas in Dzogchen we talk more of introduction connected with Guruyoga: this is the transmission and the principal practice. In Dzogchen, when you have received the correct transmission of Gumyoga, you can automatically do many practices. On the other hand, if you follow the tantric way you need all the instructions, one by one, for each of the practices. For example, the clear I ight, the illusory body, the practice of dream, all the principal teachings of the Anuttara Tantra which are essentially six in number, such as the Six Yogas ofNaropa, have to be learned one by one and each one requires a separate initiation. In Dzogchen, these practices are connected with Guruyoga. If you know the Guruyoga, such as that of the white A, you don't have to worry about receiving specific transmissions of the other methods if this is difficult. Certainly you have to learn how they are done, but it's enough to read the in­ structions to do that.

28

In the Longde, we do the Guruyoga with the AOM rather than a white A. The dang energy is the Dharmakaya aspect of energy. A crystal ball placed on a yellow tablecloth will become yellow, and it can become any colour according to the base that it is put on. But the truth is that the ctystal ball is colourless. It always remains transparent, pure and lim­ pid. Dharmakaya too is beyond colour, but it has infinite potentiality which may manifest according to the secondary causes. This is why Ngondzog Gyalpo manifests in such manner in the center of the mandala. Looked at from the east, Ngondzog Gyalpo is white, from the south, he's yel­ low, and so on. The same is true for the letter AOM which is made up of five colours. Why does Ngondzog Gyalpo have this characteristic? Because he is a symbol of self-perfec­ tion, of the state of lhundrub. To become illuminated doesn't mean to change, better or perfect anything. Between our nature and that of Samantabhadra or Vajrasattva there is no difference. Well then, why are we in samsara? This is the problem! Even if our real nature is pure from the beginning, we have accumulated many obstacles and impurities which obscure it. Self-perfection is the principle of Dzogchen. When we speak of Dhannakaya we refer to it as Samantabhadra, but we shouldn't be thinking of some historic Buddha. Samanta­ bhadra is a symbol of our true nature. When we discover our true nature, we will really find ourselves in the state of Sa­ mantabhadra. So when we do a visualisation in the Sambho­ gakaya style, such as Ngondzog Gyalpo, Vajrasattva or Va­ jrapani, in reality we are visualising symbols. Masters or realised beings do exist, but they are beyond form. They are in the state of Dharmakaya which is beyond time and num­ ber. When we live in the ordinary way we say, "This is num-

29

ber one, this is number two, this is Vajrasattva, this is Vajra­ pani, etc. etc." But in the state ofDharmakaya and Samanta­ bhadra we don't have this concept. We are beyond it. But then, because of our potentiality and the secondary causes, manifestation happens in different ways: Vajrapani mani­ fests as Vajrapani, Ngondzog Gyalpo as Ngondzog Gyalpo etc. Furthermore, the manifestations have different types of wisdom. For example, if you want to have a long life you would do the practice of Guru A mitayus. If you want do develop compassion, you would do the practice of Avaloki­ teshvara. If you want to become more intelligent, you would do the practice of Manjushri. But in the real sense, Avaloki­ teshvara possesses infinite wisdoms linked to intelligence like Manjushri. There is not any difference. All the illumi­ nated beings have infinite wisdom both in quality and quan­ tity. The difference is in their relationship to various circum­ stances. This is why there are so many different practices and manifestations. Thus, we have to transform ourselves into Ngondzog Gyalpo who is gold in colour, joyous, even a little ferocious, but anyway joyous. In general, manifestations are of three types: wrathful, peaceful and joyous. Why? Because we have three types of experiences - emptiness, clarity and sensa­ tion -which correspond to the three emotions of ignorance, anger and attachment. Ignorance in this case doesn't mean a lack of education or instruction but rather ignorance of our real nature, of our self-perfected state, or lhundrub. We are therefore all ignorant, otherwise we would be like Vajrasattva, Vajrapani, Samantabhadra etc. Transformation may come about either in the form of peaceful divinities such as Bud­ dha Vairochana, the fiveDhyani Buddhas etc. or in the form of joyous or wrathful divinities.

30

So, Ngondzog Gyalpo is joyous, has a nine-pointed vajra in his right hand and a bell in his left. He's in union with his Yum who holds a damaru in her right hand and a kapala in her left (or the Yum embraces the Yab and therefore there is no explanation of what she has in her hands because one can't see them.) He is seated with his legs crossed, and has Sambhogakaya ornaments like Vajrasattva. This is the visu­ alisation, more or less. As far as the empowern1ent is concerned, in ancient times, the masters used very simple forms, not only in Dzogchen but also in the Anuttara Tantra and Anuyoga. If you look at the iconography of the ancient masters such as Garab Dorje, Sri Simha, Vimalamitra or Jfianasutra, next to them there is a kind of vase, called a samatog, which contained all the secret objects for practice, like vajra and bell etc. Today these objects aren't considered secret anymore. People show them off as if they were ornaments. Then they had their dam ant in there and their mala, which these days people wear around their necks like a necklace. They had small mandalas, paint­ ings of Herukas and Dakinis used to introduce the way of transfonnation according to the Tantra, kapala, and there might be Chiilen pills, nectars etc. The vase was only opened to do a practice or to give a transmission. And this only hap­ pened in a quiet or isolated place where there were no curi­ ous people to see what was going on. Originally, there weren't any formal initiations which went on for days. The master simply arranged a time with the student. For example, Sri Simha said to Vairochana, "To­ morrow night, show up under that tree in the forest, or in that cave, and I'll give you the transmission." So the master arrived with his samatog, and transmitted the teaching in a very simple way. Sometimes you'll see the phrase "trans-

31

mitted at midnight" or "at midday" or "in the afternoon." It doesn't say "the initiation went on for many days." This kind of thing didn't exist back then. Then, with the passage of time, and the diffusion of the teachings like Yoga Tantra which are very linked to the exterior aspects of things, even the Anuttara Tantra changed. You can see for example how complicated the Kalachakra initiation is, and not only that one. These initiations which they call wangchen last for two days and the first day is dedicated only to preparation. But there are briefer empowerments which are even linked to the Yoga Tantra and sometimes to Kriya Tantra which are called jenang. Jcnang means to give an empowerment to authorise or give permission to perform a certain practice. For example, recently Sakya Trizin was giving the Drubthab Kuntii, a teaching in which there are only two or three ll'angchen and the rest is

a

collection ofjenang. It's possible

to receive five or six of these empowennents in one day. We (in the Dzogchen Community) usually do the tonwang, which means to communicate the essence of the initiation. I tell you how to enter into this dimension through visualisa­ tion, then we all enter this dimension together and thus we communicate and I give the empowerment. This we gener­ ally call a wang, or initiation, and there are many types: lvangchen or great initiations, jenang or small initiations,

and tonwang or essence of the initiation. Anyway, initiation and empowerment are two different things. For example, if you want to receive the initiation of Vajrayogini, then if you are interested in the practice, you may receive also the relevant empowerment. The practice of Vajrayogini is very diffused throughout the Sakya tradi­ tion. When I was very small, in college, I was very inter­ ested in this practice and one day my master gave the initia-

32

tion twice and I received it. Because I was interested, I also asked to receive the empowerment and a few days later I received it in a very funny way. Since I was the only reincar­ nation in the college, I was always first to receive an em­ powerment, and so 1 didn't know what to do. A little red pill made of tsampa was used for the empowerment which was put into a butter lamp. My master told me to visualise that the wisdom ofVajrayogini came into me through my mouth, like a small luminous Vajrayogini and was integrated into myself. Then he lit the butter lamp and he brought it close to my mouth. But I couldn't do the visualisation because I was too scared that it was going to burn me! That's how I re­ ceived that empowerment. Then I looked at the other stu­ dents, some of whom already knew the practice and I saw that they kept their mouths wide open. The master brought the lamp close to their mouths, said SVAHA and they had no problem.

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3. THE FOUR DAS, THE UPADESHA OFVAIROCHANA

Just as in the practice of the Dzogchen Upadesha we speak of the Four Chogzhags and in theDzogchen Semde we speak of the Four Contemplations, so in the Dzogchen Longde we speak of the Four Das. The method of the Four Das comes originally from the Longde tantras, but the way to apply them is explained in the Longde upadeshas. Here, upadesha does not refer to the series of the Dzogchen Upadesha but to the texts which contain the specific experiences of the mas­ ters like Vairochana, Shri Simha and many others, or such as Pang Mipham Gonpo and his students who developed some particular methods. The method which is officially the most used is taken from a root text written by Dzin Dharma­ bodhi. This master, his son and successive generations of his family were very special practitioners of Dzogchen Longde. The title of the text is Nyengyiid dmje zampai nyamtrid gomgyi yige salwai dr6nma.

Recently, Deu chonjung, a Tibetan history book was dis­ covered in Tibet, in which is the story of the development of Buddhism and before this how the Bon tradition developed etc. In the past, this book was unknown, but then it was dis­ covered somewhere and published. In it were recorded his­ torical events which had hitherto been unknown. The author of the book was a member of the family ofDzin Dharmabodhi. Dzin Dharmabodhi lived, more or less, at the time of Machig Labdron (I 03 1-1129). lIe integrated into the Dzog­ chen Longde the tantric methods of transformation which had been transmitted by the Indian master, Avadhutipa. We will use his brief text on the practice ofLongde, but we will

34

also clarify a number of points by using the texts of the upa­

deshas. The Four Das are connected with the verses written by Vairochana on Pang Mipham Gonpo's stick, or tsulshing. These verses are the essence of the Four Das2• The first verses ofVairochana are connected to the expe­ rience of clarity from which visions and wisdom can de­ velop. For this reason, the method of clarity is one of the Four Das3•

Yeshe khyilwa dorje pum The vase which contains all wisdom is our physical body. The physical body contains our potentiality and our wisdom.

Yeshe chenpoi ro kangwa The vase of the vajra body is pervaded by the taste of wisdom. This means that when we taste it, wisdom can mani­ fest. This is not just some idea. It is something which we can discover concretely just as if we had tasted a fruit.

Yeshe ngayi dewa gye Through this experience the bliss of the five wisdoms grows. The Tibetan text and its translation are contained in the Appendix. This is the Wylie transliteration of the first strophe: Ye shes 'khyil ba rdo rje 'i bum Ye shes chen po 'i ros gang ba Ye shes lnga yi bde ba rgyas Rang Ius ye shes rin po che Rig pa 'i ye shes skur gsa/ ba Gang snang rang rig ye shes nyid Rang rig ye shes rgywz chad med Rang byung ye shes 'ad gsa/ ba Ye shes nam mkha 'i mtha' dang mnyam Tshul chen 'di Ia gnas par gyis

35

Ranghi yeshe rinpoche Our body is just a precious accumulation of wisdom, Rigpai yeshe kur sahm And manifests the dimension of wisdom in the state of instant presence. Kangnang rangrig yeshe nyid All that we see, or which appears, the visions which we have through the experience of clarity, all this is none other than wisdom connected to the state of rigpa, instantaneous presence. Rangrig yeshe gyiinched med The wisdom of the primordial state is without interrup­ tion; there is always presence in every moment. Rangjung yeshe od saht·a Self-originated wisdom manifests itself which is really connected to our primordial potentiality. Yeshe namkhai tha tang nyam The manifestation of wisdom is just like space. It per­ vades all without any consideration of subject and object, and thus through the presence of wisdom one can integrate everything. T.'lulchen dila nepar gyi The last verse says, "Remain in this state." The second strophe concerns the experience of mitogpa, which also means the experience of emptiness. When we are in a calm state, in the state of emptiness, there are no distracting thoughts, they disappear, or, if they are there, they

36

have no power to disturb us. In Tibetan, mi is a negative prefix, and togpa means thought: therefore, without thought. But in Longde, the meaning of this word is a little different to the meaning in the Sutra. In the Sutra, mitogpa means really to remain without thought, in emptiness. When you practice Shine, remaining sharply concentrated in the state of emptiness, as this practice becomes more familiar, day by day, thoughts diminuish more and more and one can remain for a long time without any kind of thought arising. This is considered to be the state of mitogpa. In Dzogchen, how­ ever there is no need to stay in that kind of emptiness be­ cause, if we are really in the state of instant presence, there is no difference whether thoughts are present or not. The real state is not emptiness but instant presence. When you are in the state of instant presence, you are no longer condi­ tioned by thought, and there is no difference between hav­ ing them or not. There is a text called Nyamyig (nyam means experience,yig means letter) which is an upadesha ofGarab Dorje, that is a communication of the experience of Garab Dorje and not a quote from a tantra. In the Nyamyig it says: Sharna shar"vai ngowo tij Trolna trolwai ngowo to Shardrolnyimed zangngen med4

When thoughts arise, observe the nature of their arising, When thoughts dissolve, observe the nature of their dis­ solving, Arising and dissolving are beyond good and bad. In Wylie transliteration: Shar 1za slzar ha 'i ngo ho ltos Grolna g1'0l ha'i ngo ho ltos Shar grot gnyis med h;:m1g ngan med

37

When thoughts arise, don't worry. There's nothing w,rong. Thoughts are patt of our energy, an aspect of our clarity, because our nature is not only emptiness. So when thoughts arise, don't feel disturbed, don't run away from them. When thoughts arise in Sutra practices, one gets worried and con­ centrates more sharply so that they don't arise. In Dzogchen, however, you have to integrate rather than concentrate. If thoughts arise you simply remain in instant presence. Re­ maining in instant presence, thoughts simply arise and dis­ appear. When they disappear and you find yourself in a calm state, just remain in instant presence. There is no difference whether thoughts arise or not. This is what Garab Dorje said and this is the characteristic principle of Dzogchen. This is the way that mitogpa should be understood in the Dzogchen teachings. Even if you are in a state of contemplation, you don't think actively and don't get into judgement. Whatever happens, you are free. If thoughts arise, that's fine, but you don't follow them and don't get into judging them. Neither you run away from them, but rather, you integrate with them. How can you integrate them? You are in instant presence and in instant presence everything is possible, so there's no problem. This is the real meaning of mitogpa in the Dzog­ chen Upadesha, but also in Semde and Longde. It's impor­ tant to understand this point. So the second Da is that of mitogpa and here the verses of Vairochana example the principle of it5.

5

This is the Wylie transliteration of the second strophe: 'Di Ia yang dag ngos bzwzg med Ting 'dzin sems kyis rig btsalmed Lus dang ngag gis bya btsalmed 'Di Ia dmigs dang bya btsalmed Skye 'jig byung yang 'gag 'bralmed

38

Dila yangdag ngozung med

The state of instant presence, which we can also call the state of contemplation, or the true nature, the primordial state, or primordial potentiality, is not an object, it is not some­ thing that can be confirmed or defined: "It's like that, it seems like that." We can't confirm anything. This is our real na­ ture. Tingdzin semkyi rigtsalmed

In the state of contemplation, there is nothing that can be looked for or found with judgement or with intellectual knowledge. One can only enter into this state through expe­ rience and not looking for or obtaining anything. Lii tang ngaggi chatsalmed

It's the same thing particularly in the Upadesha and the Semde. One does not reach the state of contemplation through controlling the body or the energy because this is tsolwa, or effort. Our real nature is beyond effort, therefore effort is not the principal means to enter into this state, because one can't find it by using effort. Dila mig tang chatsalmed

There is no need to do any visualisation or transfonna­ tion practice in the tantric style where one always uses con­ centration. There is nothing to search for or to find in this way. Kyejig jung yang gagdralmed

Even if we suffer interruptions in our life such as birth Gnas dang !dan yang rten pa med Yul du snang yang 'gag pa med Longs spyod !dan yang chags pa med Tshul chen 'di Ia gnas par gyis

39

and death etc., nothing changes in our real nature. The pri­ mordial state and primordial potentiality are always the same. The example is that of the sun which always shines in the sky no matter what happens. Ne tang den yang tenpa med

Even if it is contained in the physical body, the primor­ dial potentiality of wisdom depends on nothing and is lim­ ited by nothing. Our true condition is always beyond the limits of subject and object. Yufdu nangyang gagpa med

Sometimes, mostly in the practices of Longde and Upa­ desha, our potentiality appears like an object, a thigle in space. We can see it. It appears to be external, but it is our potentiality which is manifesting outside as if it was an ob­ ject. It seems to be an object but in reality this is our nature. The manifestation of our real nature is always there. It is uninterrupted, even if it sometimes seems as if it appears or disappears outside of us. Longchod den yang chagpa med

We can enjoy anything through the experience of vision and sensation but not in the ordinary way. In fact, normally, as soon as we start to enjoy something we fall into attach­ ment and so problems arise. But here, however, enjoyment doesn't create any problems. Tsulchen dila nepar gyi

The last verse of the second strophe also says: "Remain in this state." Then the text has the consonants of the Sanskrit alphabet. In the Sanskrit and Oddiyana alphabets, the vowels repre-

40

sent energy and the consonants, method. The alphabet, there­ fore, represents our total existence, potentiality, energy etc. In the second part of the text there are two strophes. The first concerns the Da of sensation, devva. In general dewa means sensation, which can be pleasant, unpleasant, sad etc. But sensations are always experiences linked with the physi­ cal body and are therefore more concrete than the experi­ ences connected with clarity and the void. Consequently, sensation is more important as an experience if we are ca­ pable of using it correctly. Tongnyid dewai menngagjin6

We feel happy or sad because our physical body enters into contact with various secondary causes, and so we feel something concretely. But if we closely observe what we are feeling, or what it is that is really concrete, in reality we aren't capable of explaining it, because our nature is always emptiness. There is nothing which can be seen or touched. We can only feel the sensation. For example, if we eat a sweet, we can taste sweetness. We can have the sensation but if we try to ask ourselves what do we really feel, how this sensation really is, we realise that we are not talking This is the Wylie transliteration of the third strophe: Stong nyid hde ba 'i man ngag sbyin Dam pa 'i hde ha nmgmz du hstmz Rig pa'i reg hya'i bde ba yin Bde ba rig pa chen po ste Bde ha chen po 'i ros gang ha Gcig tu 'dus pa ·; hde chen yin Bde ba chen po mi 'bra! bzrmg Bde ba rgyas pa 'i dbang thoh ste Zh ing khams gnyis kar bde longs spyod

Tslzul chen 'di Ia gnas par gyis

41

about something really concrete and material like sugar; sugar is only the secondary cause. Through this experience, there­ fore we understand emptiness, not only in itself but also in relation to something concrete or material. For example, we can easily imagine a horse with horns, but in reality such a horse doesn't exist, it is only a creation of our own minds. We know what yaks' horns or cows' horns look like, and we know what a horse looks like, so mentally we can imagine a horned horse, but such a horse doesn't exist. This is an example of emptiness without function or meaning because such a phenomenon doesn't exist. On the other hand, the emptiness which we speak of concerning the sweet is something concrete. If someone punches you, you feel pain and get angry immediately because you have a material body, but if you look for the pain, you won't find it even if you feel it. In this case, the void does manifest a function because you feel the pain but though likewise there is nothing that can be found. This means that the void is also linked with something concrete and material. You have to understand this, however, through experience and not just intellectually. Then it is possible to realise the non-duality of emptiness and sensation. This is a very particular upade­ sha. Tampai dewa ngondu ten

W hen we know that the true nature of sensation is empti­ ness and remain in instant presence, without falling into du­ alism, then sensation becomes something sacred which is generally called bliss. The word dewa is sometimes trans­ lated as 'bliss' and sometimes as 'sensation,' but usually the term translated as 'bliss' is dewa chenpo, mahasukha, which means total bliss. Anyway, this doesn't mean that totally realised beings feel bliss while ordinary beings have only

42

the ordinary sensation of pleasure. It depends. The average sensation, if we fall into dualism, is an ordinary sensation, while if we don't fall into dualism and we remain in the knowledge that its real nature is non-dual with respect to emptiness, if we find ourselves in instant presence, then it is bliss. In Tantrism, mahasukha often means the sexual union of male and female, but in the manifestation of Yab Yum divinities we speak of mahasukha and not sexual pleasure. Why? Because we don't fall into dualism. For example, when you have sexual contact and you feel a pleasant sensation, usually you immediately fall into dualism and think: "Oh great, this is wonderful." Thus you create attachment, jeal­ ousy and many other problems. This is the samsaric sexual function, a sensation which never produces anything good and is only a cause of suffering. We could never call it bliss. Bliss, however, consists of the fact that, even if we have sexual contact and feel a sensation of pleasure, this sensa­ tion becomes like wood added to a fire which feeds the fire. This sensation, in fact, develops wisdom because it is not conditioned by attachment and dualistic vision. In such a case, we speak of sacred pleasure; which means that we manifest bliss. Rigpai regjai dewa yin This is actually the sensation of pleasure or dewa which is linked to instant presence. This means that through the potentiality ofsound, rays and lights we discover how one's true nature manifests. Dewa rigpa chenpo te

When we experience the sensation of pleasure, through pleasure itselfwe find ourselves in the state of r igpa. This is the state of total contemplation.

43

Dewa chenpoi ro kangwa Then one is always filled with total bliss. Here it says

dewa chenpo, total bliss. Chigtu diipai dechen yin This is actually what is called total bliss, which is the union of all of our existence and all of our experiences.

Dewa chenpo midral zung Maintaining and continuing this presence of bliss,

Dewa gyepai wangthob te You obtain an increase of bliss.

Shing kham nyikar de longchod Then it is no longer necessary to distinguish between pure and impure vision, it is no longer necessary to transfonn impure into pure vision; one can enjoy everything just as it is.

Tsulchen dila nepar gyi The last verse says: "Remain in this state," that is, prac­ tice the Da of dewa. Then there is the final strophe which concerns the fourth Da. The first Da dealt with clarity, the second with mitogpa, and the third with sensation. These first three Das are re­ lated to the voice, the mind and the body. W hen we unify them and practice these three experiences together, no longer separately, we have the fourth Da, the Da of yermed or in­ separability. We can thus have the naked experience of instant pres­ ence, which is the ultimate goal of the Four Das, the state of contemplation. Through this experience we discover naked instant presence, and this is equivalent to the second prin­ ciple of Garab Dorje, "don't remain in doubt." 44

Tsohva drahmi ng6drub yin7 This is the obtainment beyond effort, Gyudre mepai tharthug yin The final goal beyond cause and effect, Ngagtsig dralwai niithu yin The supreme final potentiality beyond the reciting of mantras, Thanyed dralwai t6ntson yin The real meaning beyond all symbols and words used to explain how it is and how you get there, Lezhi dralwai ngodru b yin The real obtainment beyond the four actions of the Vajra, Karma, Ratna and Padma families, those actions in Tantrism which one applies, one by one, in order to obtain something. Chingdral tiinpe tawa yin This is what is called 'the state beyond,' ladawa in Ti­ betan, which means beyond all, and when we are beyond there is nothing which is conditioned or limited by anything.

This is the Wylie transliteration of the fourth strophe: Rtsol ba bra! ba'i dngos grub yin Rgyu 'bras med pa 'i mtlwr thug yin Sngags tshig bra! ba 'i

I!IIS

mt/111 yin

Tlza snyad brat ha'i don mtshon yin Las bzhi bra! ha 'i dngos grub yin 'Ching bra! stan pas Ita ha yin 'Da' ba med pa'i dam tshig yin Rtog 'dzin spangs pa 'i sangs rgyas yin 1:�hul chen 'di Ia gnas par gyis

45

Dawa mepai tamtsig yin This is the state of our samaya. In the Dzogchen teach­ ings, samaya means always to try to find oneself in the state of contemplation, not distracted, or at least to try to be like this; but in this state, we are also beyond samaya. We don't worry about it any more because we are already in the state of contemplation.

Togdzin pangpai sangye yin This is enlightenment, the state of Buddha, beyond all concepts.

Tim/chen dila nepar gyi The last verse says: "Remain in this state!" In this prac­ tice the fourth Da also represents the fruit, that which we realise. Now we are in the state of Samantabhadra. We are actually like Samantabhadra or Vajrasattva. The Sanskrit vowels appear here in the text, which repre­ sent all manifestations of energy. These are the words written by Vairochana on the tsul­

shing, and we consider them to be the base of the practice of the Four Das.

46

4. THE INSTRUCTIONS OF DZIN DHARMABODHI

Now we' ll go on to the instructions of Dzin Dharmabo­ dhi. If we don't succeed in making contemplation, or the state of rigpa or instant presence, arise, what can we do? To this end, we have the neds, or main specific points. For ex­ ample, if we want to turn on the light we use a switch, which in this case is the ned. In the same way, in order to have the experiences and not remain in doubt we have to know the

neds, the main specific points. The neds for developing con­ templation are the meditation belt, gomthag, and the stick for maintaining position, gomten. Then there is the ned of the position. If one does the practice in the morning, one turns to the west because strong light damages the eyes. On the other hand, if one practices in the afternoon, one looks to the east. Dzin Dharmabodhi's text only explains one posi­ tion, but there are explanations of many interesting and im­ portant positions in the Longde upadeshas. In the one ex­ plained here, in Dzin Dharmabodhi's text, in the morning we look to the west, the left knee is down and the right is bent upward. In order to do this practice we need a meditation stick. It is possible to do it also without the stick because there are a number of positions that don't require it, but the principal position of Longde is done with the stick and meditation belt, which are used to maintain the position itself. Every­ one should make themselves a stick and meditation belt to their own size. The distance from the elbow to the tips of the fingers is called a tnt, in Tibetan. The length of the stick

should be one

tru

plus four fingers held horizontally. The

47

belt also uses the same measure doubled, but y ou can add a little bit more because the standard measure could be tight for those who are a bit fat. You have to establish the length individually and if necessary, you can make it a little longer. If y ou have the correct measurements and no problems with them, it is much better to use the belt and the stick because one can control the energy points. This is the actual aim of certain Longde positions. One puts the meditation belt around the right knee to maintain the position, while the stick is placed under the left armpit, close to the body, and is held by the hands, the right higher and the left lower. The meditation belt can overbal­ ance the body so the stick serves to rebalance it. This is the principal position, the more traditional one, but in the expla­ nations of the upadeshas there are many other interesting ones. Naturally, the position changes in the afternoon: the left knee is up and the right is down. Why do we change position? Because in the practice of Longde, the time when we practice is given a lot of importance, and also the posi­ tion of external energy, so that it can all be connected with our own energy. Females do the exact opposite of males be­ cause in women the solar and lunar energies are on the op­ posite sides. This is the position of the body, which is one aspect that is more closely connected with external energy. The experi­ ence of contemplation can arise with this position, but then the experience has to become stable. In order to stabilise it there are two principal points which are also called Das. The first is the Da of time and the second is the Da of the main specific points. According to the first, during the practice the prana, that is the vital energy, has to be concentrated in the five chakras. This aspect has more to do with the inter­ nal energy. How does one know if the prana is concentrated

48

in the five chakras? Males feel the breath to be stronger in the left nostril, females in the right. You can personally veri fy it by putting the back of your hand under your nostrils. Some­ times there is equilibrium, and therefore the breath has the same strength in both nostrils, however the power of the breath inevitably changes. In the upadeshas of the Dzog­ chen Longde there are many explanations of how and why the breathing changes and its relative benefits etc. but we don't have to go into such detail for the moment. So the first thing we have to do is to veri fy the strength of the breath. If the breath is stronger in the right nostril, men should not do the practice because the time is not favourable. For women it is the opposite. There are methods for changing the strength of the breathing. For example, if you lie down on your side for five minutes- males on their right side in the position of the parinirvana of the Buddha; females on the left side- the breathing automatically changes. In brief, this is the Da of time. 49

TheDa of the main specific points includes the FourDas called salwa (clarity), mitogpa (void), dewa (sensation), and yenned (non-duality). The firstDa is to leave the senses free

rather than concentrated as in the practice of Shine or fixa­ tion, and to look into space because space is the base of the manifestation of clarity. However, you shouldn't look too far away. In some practices of Longde it's said to look about the width of one palm in front of the nose. Remaining like that, with the eyes and all the sense organs open, it's pos­ sible to have the experience of clarity which manifests from the nature of the mind. Clarity is explained very well in this book. There is a clarity connected to thought, to memory, to judgement, etc. and another form that is beyond all this in which there is no thought or judgement. Here we are talking about the second type. For example, when we do the prac­ tice of transformation, we visualise the mandala, and the divinity, then we remain in that state without thinking any more. However, somehow or other, there is always some­ thing constructed in this, a mental creation.lt's different here. Here we are talking about the natural clarity. Therefore one maintains a gaze a short distance away from the nose and remains with the ears and all the other senses open and present. This is the firstDa. How do we apply theDa of mitogpa, the second Da? We stay in position without moving the body or the eyes keep­ ing the gaze steady and stable. This is something similar to fixation, but it is not true fixation which relies on being fixed on a precise point. 1 f the gaze is stable, then the function of all the other senses becomes stable. Remaining like this, clar­ ity can manifest because the senses are open, but at the same time thoughts don't arise or, even if they do arise, they don't have the power to disturb or create problems. In this case

50

clarity is governed by emptiness. Now you are in a state of clarity, but this same clarity is found in a state of emptiness. The third Da, that of sensation, is applied in the follow­ ing way: we relax the senses while always staying immo­ bile, and so automatically the breathing slows down and stays controlled. You don't have to do anything to obtain this con­ dition. There's no need to hold the breath or to do anything. But in order to have the sensation of pleasure we pull up from below as in the woglung aspect of kwnbhaka, only a little. There is no need to do kumbhaka, that would be a mis­ take. Everything happens spontaneously and naturally. It's enough to pull up very little to have a light sensation of plea­ sure. This sensation should be integrated in clarity and emp­ tiness, and you are in this presence. This is how dewa is practiced. Lastly, there is the Da of yenned. Yenned means that the preceding three Das are not separate one from the other but they are applied all together. Without moving the eyes and the other senses, gazing into space the distance of one palm from the tip of the nose we stay in the presence, and we pull up a little from below feeling the sensation and, as a symbol

ofyermed, we keep the tongue lifted in the mouth not touch­ ing the palate or the teeth. This also helps to find oneself in the state of yermed. When the four Das are present all to­ gether you can discover the naked presence of rigpa, which the master has introduced to you with the rigpai tsal wang by shouting PHAT. Stay there as much as possible. W hen you feel tired, relax out of the position and take it up again after a while. Finding oneself in the state of yermed is the principal prac­ tice of contemplation. By applying it we can have an exact experience of the state of contemplation. If we dedicate a lot

51

of time to the practice ofLongde, it is possible to have many experiences which are explained one by one in the text: the first, second etc. Not everyone has this possibility, however, because in our ordinary life, living in the city, there's not much time to go off somewhere with a stick and a medita­ tion belt and do some practice. Anyway, it's very important to dedicate at least some time to the Longde method in order to have a one hundred per cent sure knowledge of contem­ plation. Then it's possible to integrate it into everyday life.

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5. THE METHODS FOR OVERCOMING DEFECTS

Many problems and obstacles may arise when you do this practice. In the state of

Rigpa

rigpa,

there aren't any problems.

is beyond problems. But while we still have a physi­

cal body, and we live an ordinary existence in the relative condition we can receive many negative influences. The physical body is aggregate of the five material elements, and if their energy is unbalanced we can have many problems. If our energy is unbalanced, especially at the time when we start to practice, the state of contemplation will not arise for us. It is therefore very important that we learn how to bal­ ance our energy. How do we do this? It's not in this book, but in many Longde

upadeshas there

is a very simple, universal method explained for coordinat­ ing one's energy. We stand up, fold our arms and lift them above our head without touching it, and stretch them up as much as possible. At this point, we visualise a blue HUM at the heart, or more often at the navel chakra. We concentrate on the HUM and we sound it seven or ten times while re­ maining in this position in order to coordinate the elements. In Dzin Dharmabodhi's text, however, it says to take the

vajra position as in the Rushen of the body: with your j oined hands lifted above your head, and with the soles of the feet together, you lower yourself while balancing on the tips of your toes. If this is too tiring, it's enough to lean back against a wall and lift yourself up a little. The body resembles a three-pointed

vajra:

the trunk of the body is one point, the

hands and the feet are the other two. Remain in this position, visualise the five-coloured AOM at the navel

53

chakra

or at

the heart. Concentrate on this syllable, hold your breath, and remain in kumbhaka. Then, when you are tired, change air and immediately repeat the hold while keeping the mind concentrated on the AOM. By repeating this exercise at least seven times, you can coordinate your energy. You don't always have to coordinate your energy, but if you notice there is something out of balance then you rebal­ ance it. For example, if you get sleepy as soon as you begin to practice, it means that your energy is unbalanced. The same is true if you are too agitated and you can't stay still. In these circumstances, even if you make an effort, the state of contemplation won't arise. So it's very important to balance your energy. This book also explains how to balance each single ele­ ment in a very specific way. For example, if you usually have a heavy physical sensation, if you don't like to move about and you like to sit around all the time, if your breath­ ing is heavy and irregular, if you sleep heavily and you like to sleep a lot, if don't you talk very much and get annoyed when other people are talking, then you are predominantly governed by the earth element and you have to balance it. If the air element is predominant, then you always move about, you can't stay still, you speak uninterruptedly even if it's annoying to other people. If other people are silent, you get nervous, and your mind incessantly thinks and judges like a frenetically nervous monkey. If the water element is pre­ dominant, you always feel a little sleepy, you don't have much clarity, you fall asleep easily, your mind is disordered, you don't succeed in formulating your thoughts very quickly, and you often find yourself in a state of hedewa without concepts, or you are distracted. lf the fire element predomi­ nates, you are agitated, you get angry easily if someone says

54

something you don't like, and you have a lot of thoughts which distract you continually. How is it possible to balance or coordinate the ele­ ments? The practice for coordinating the air element is done from six in the morning to noon, which is the time of the air element (but in some Longde instructions the timetable is much more detailed). Sitting with your legs crossed, or even on a chair, put one big toe on top of the other, grasp the anns near the annpits as in Yantra Yoga, and use the thumbs to press finnly under the arms in order to control the channels. Then lean your anns on your bent knees and lay your head on your arms so that your body has a curved and rounded form. Finally, you gaze downward. This is the position. At the navel chakra imagine a yellow letter LAM or a yellow sphere, the essence of the earth element. Maintain this visu­ alisation for ten minutes and if necessary repeat it once more. That should be enough. If the water element is disturbed, practice in the after­ noon between noon and six, which is the time of the water element. Comfortably seated with your legs crossed, or stand­ ing up if you prefer, wear light clothes on your upper body and heavier ones around the pelvis. Pull your head back a little, and visualise a red RAM, or a red sphere, at the navel chakra, which represents the essence of the fire element, and maintain this presence. At the end, imagine that your presence comes out of the top of your head and that about a forearm's length above your head, visualise a red RAM or a red thigle. Remain in this presence. If you repeat the prac­ tice seven times, you can coordinate your energy perfectly. If you have an imbalance or an excess of the fire element you have to do the practice after sunset and up to midnight, which is the time of the fire element. You now visualise the

55

water element. First of all, if you have no problems in doing it, sit in the lotus position. Otherwise, you can sit with your legs crossed with your hands in the meditation mudra of the Buddha. In Yantra Yoga there is a difference between males and females as to which hand is above or below but in both cases we put the thumbs together. The thumb, the index fin­ ger, and the ring finger, are all very important because they are connected with the function of energy. By putting the thumbs together, it is easy to experience emptiness and block confusion. The index finger represents the experience of clar­ ity, and so by connecting the thumb and the index finger on the same hand one experiences the union of emptiness and clarity. The ring finger is particularly connected with sensa­ tion, so by joining the thumb and the ring finger of the same hand you experience the non-duality of emptiness and sen­ sation. So, sitting in the position described, with the thumbs touching in order to block confusion and to have an experi­ ence of emptiness, we look directly ahead, neither up nor down, we visualise at the navel chakra a white letter BAM, or a white thigle, which represents the water element. We concentrate on it and relax in this presence. Thus we coordi­ nate the fire element and contemplation can arise for us. If the earth element is unbalanced or you have an excess of it, you should practice in the period between midnight and dawn, which is the time of the earth element, and you visualise the air element. You sit in the lotus position or sim­ ply with your legs crossed, with your hands in the medita­ tion position, as in the previous practice of the fire element. You look straight ahead and visualise a green letter YAM, or a green thigle, at the navel chakra. You remain in this pres­ ence, and relax.

56

You only have to do these practices

a

few times in order

to coordinate the elements. lfyou don't know which of your elements is unbalanced or if they are all unbalanced, it's better to do the practice which uses the vajra position: visualise and sound AOM, holding the air in kumbhaka or, as is ex­ plained in the upadeshas, stand up and sound HUM.

57

6. THE FOUR POSITIONS CONNECTED WITH THE FOUR SYLLABLES A,HO,HA,YE The syllables of the Song of the Vajra represent the en­ ergy function of the various channels and chakras of the physical body. Often- for example in the line EMA KI RI KI RI, the syllables are repeated: the first syllables KI RI are short, the second are long, also like SA SA etc. For males, the short sound governs the right side, and the long sound governs the left side. For females, it's the reverse. Analo­ gously, all the repeated syllables govern solar and lunar en­ ergy in various ways. There are also syllables con-elated with the front and back of the body. Anyway, all these sounds represent our total dimension, and in particular, the princi­ pal sounds connected with the energy points of the body are found in the Song of the Vajra. Singing the Song of the Vajra, therefore is considered to be the best way to reach the state of integration, that is to overcome the concept of subject and object, and to find oneself in instant presence. It's not enough to have an intellectual idea, you must have the actual expe­ rience. Integration, therefore, is not that easy. In the Dzog­ chen teaching, this is the principal point. In the Dzogchen Semde, we speak of llnmdrub, which is the last of the Four Contemplations, and which means essentially to integrate everything - body, voice, mind, behaviour, the idea of sub­ ject and object - into the state of instant presence. When we learn the Dzogchen Upadesha we speak ofTreg­ chod and Thogal. The first is the equivalent of finding one­ self in the state of contemplation. The second is a particular method for integrating everything into this state and when we are capable of it, we can manifest the Rainbow Body.

58

The same happens in the Dzogchen Longde with the Four Das. When we are in the fourth Da and we unify the three specific experiences, maintaining the gaze steady at the cor­ rect distance, visions manifest. Colours may manifest, for example, because we have all the qualifications of the five wisdoms and the nature of the elements. All these aspects which can manifest are called ying, the dimension of empti­ ness, the real condition. The ying might be internal or exter­ nal. Ying in Sanskrit is called dhatu, and, in general, dhar­ madhatu is the dimension of emptiness. But in the Dzog­

chen teaching ying also has another meaning. External ying does not represent the emptiness of the external dimension or of objects, it represents our real, self-perfected nature, the potentiality of sound, rays and lights, which manifests ex­ ternally like an object. How can these manifestations hap­ pen? Through a method, otherwise there is no possibility. For example, with the method of the four Das, when we are in the fourth Da, our potentiality manifests in the form of visions which appear in front of us. Maybe a thigle might appear, which might be white, green or yellow etc. because the colours represent the five wisdoms and the nature of the elements, or they might be multi-coloured or five-coloured. In any case, the visions which manifest are not something external, they are the reflection of our potentiality. In the same way, in the Dzogchen Upadesha, when we practice Thogal, we receive specific instructions about how we can have these visions. The secondary causes to have visions, for example, are sun-rays; so, at sunset, therefore, looking at sun-rays with our eyes half-closed, one or many thigles of five-colours manifest, and they may be big or small, sepa­ rate or linked like a necklace, depending on the practice. But we can also see thigles independent of the practice, thanks

59

to our potentiality, our real nature, maybe due to the rays of the sun, or the moon, a lamp at night, or a fire. Light is a secondary cause, but vision depends on our potentiality not from something external. So we remain in a state of contemplation with the Four Das. W hen we remain in this naked state, without concepts, but connected with the presence of the physical body and the experience of dewa, then that means we are no longer in dualism, and even if something appears, we don't think any­ more that there's something out there and that we are look­ ing at it, but, instead, we remain in a state of integration. If we don't succeed in remaining in integration, we have to be aware at least that we should be in a state of integration, otherwise the practice is meaningless. We should practice in this way when we apply Thogal, Longde or the dark retreat. If you are in the dark, for example, what do you do? If you have a method and you know how to use it, a thigle, or a light, might manifest even in the dark, and so you learn that vision is only a reflection of our potentiality, there is nothing external about it. In the dark, there are no secondary causes present such as sun-rays, but a thigle can manifest very concretely. We have body, voice and mind, that is, our existence which is very concrete and which we perceive in a very concrete way. But with this practice, we can really learn, and not only mentally, that our existence is illusory or un­ real. W hen we find ourselves in the presence of thigle with­ out remaining in dualism, this means that we integrate into the thigle. If we succeed, our physical body, our existence, will be integrated into the thigle, into the vision, and this means to realise the Rainbow Body. This is the principal point. It is not that the thigle is integrated into us, but the opposite. First the thigle appears as our pure dimension or potentiality, and it appears as if it was outside of us. Then, 60

that which we consider to be our physical level, or our physi­ cal body is integrated into the thigle. This is what really hap­ pens. It's not a mental construction. This is how the Rain­ bow Body manifests. Many practitioners of Dzogchen Longde, Upadesha and Yangtig, have manifested the Rainbow Body. Why? Because there is this integration. But to do the practices of Tho gal and Yangtig, the instructions which I have given you are not sufficient, while the practice of Longde which I have trans­ mitted to you is sufficient to achieve this integration. If you practice Longde, you will understand how important it is. First a thigle appears which might be of one colour, or might be multi-coloured, which develops even more, then there is a manifestation, sometimes like the moon or, when realisa­ tion becomes more concrete, like the sun. With progress in the practice these experiences also manifest during jethob which means in ordinary life after a session of practice. And as one gradually develops this clarity, it's possible to de­ velop integration more and more. In Longde, there are four syllables, A, HO, HA, YE which are correlated with the Four Das: A is connected with the experience of mitogpa or emptiness; HO to the experience of salwa or clarity; HA to the experience of dewa or sensa­ tion; and YE to that of yermed which is the union of the three preceding ones. The syllables therefore represent the experiences. In our physical body, there are specific chan­ nels which relate to these experiences. For example, at the end of the Song of the Vajra, there are ten syllables, SA SA, RI Rl, Ll Lf, I I, MI Ml, five are short and five are long. These syllables represent ten different manifestations of our potentiality inside our physical body. In Longde, these spe­ cific positions serve to control these points, bearing in mind

61

that there are two aspects of them. For example, regarding the syllables SA SA, there are two points in the throat. For males, the short syllable represents the right point; for women, the reverse. If we control the SA on the right side, we block confusion. Controlling the SA on the left side we increase prajiia or the experience of emptiness. If we con­ trol these points, automatically the effect will manifest. If we have too much confusion, controlling the left side from the beginning is not a good method because confusion will only increase. First, it is better to block mental confusion and then you can increase the experience of emptiness. The control of the right side, and that of the left side, therefore, have two different aspects. So there are ten points which correspond to ten sounds and the position controls them. It is very useful to learn and apply these things, but in Longde if you don't know a lot of positions, it's enough to know one. If you know more, you might well have more functions and more experiences. In the Dzogchen Longde, the positions are considered important because they allow you to coordinate energy even of those who don't have the capacity to find themselves in the state of contemplation. There are many energy channels in the body which you can use to obtain specific functions and effects. In the upadesha methods, the positions are re­ lated to the channels. How can we find these points? This is how it is done for the short SA. Hold your hand with the thumb out at 90 degrees. Males use the right hand, and women the left. Put your index finger next to your ear where there is a little dent, then rest your thumb on your throat keeping the arm turned outward a little. Then you try to feel the point. If you feel a pulse with your thumb that's

62

not good because if you press there, you'll block the circula­ tion of your blood. If you find the correct point however, you'll block confusion and a state of emptiness will arise. Remember the position ofMilarepa. T hese two channels are not only explained in the Dzogchen teachings but also in the

Hevajratantra. Milarepa controlled the right channel by pressing with his thumb in order to maintain a state of emp­ tiness. Today, many practitioners, including some lamas don't know why Milarepa sat like that and they think that it was a gesture he used when he was singing one of his songs. Or they think that he is listening to all sentient beings, that he was always there listening to all of our problems. It's a nice interpretation but if you think about it, it doesn't have much sense because if Milarepa really had the power to hear all sentient beings he wouldn't have to stay in that position to

63

do it. If he had to keep his hand up there to hear all sentient beings it would mean that he didn't hear too well even those who were close by. It's a contradiction. There are many stat­ ues of Milarepa and none of them has the correct position. Sometimes, he looks like he's doing a military salute. It's strange that all these statues are like that. Really, Milarepa was controlling the right channel in order to block confu­ sion and be in the state of contemplation. Males can also control the left side in order to increase the experience of emptiness, but if you should control the left side it should be done when there is no more confusion. If you are still in confusion, and try to have the experience of emptiness, the practice won't work. First, it's better to block confusion. As we said, SA and S A are connected to the experience of mitogpa, emptiness. RI RT and LI U are the channels principally connected with the experience of clarity. How can we find the two RI Rf channels? There is a method. Press the two fingers-tips of the thumbs together, overlap­ ping the two hands, and put the thumbs at the centre of the body on the sternum. The points of the index fingers reach a certain point on the breast to the right and left. This is, more or less, where the Rl RT points are. When y ou press them and y ou are in position, you can have the experience of clarity The LI and Lf channels are even more important and are found under the armpits. In fact, the meditation stick is put under the arm in order to press on and control these points, and not only to stabilise the position. In this way, we in­ crease the experience of clarity. In the position which I ex­ plained previously, you put the stick on the left side to in­ crease visions. This is true for males. For women, it's the opposite. Then there are the I and I channels, which are found in

64

the groin to the right and left and which develop sensation. In the Anuttara Tantra, in Yantra Yoga and when doing breath­ ing exercises we put our fists in our groin. In the Anuttara Tantra, there is no particular explanation of these two en­ ergy channels, but they are described in the Dzogchen teach­ ings and it's said that they can be controlled by these posi­ tions. In Tummo and in practices connected with sensation these help a lot. In some positions, the I and I points are controlled indirectly. For example, if the knee is raised up close to the chest and is held still by the meditation belt, this point is automatically controlled. Finally, there are the MI and MI channels, which are found near the heels, just behind the internal ankle-bone. These points favour the experience of emptiness, like SA and SA. If you remain in position and press these points you will easily find a calm state even if you are in a state of confu­ sion. This sometimes happens when you do a sharp fixation. With a sharp fixation it's difficult that you are relaxed. You are usually a bit wound up, and you don't leave space for thoughts to arise. If you control these two points however, you won't get wound up but you will rather relax, by simply controlling the physical body, thanks to this position. Thus the state of mitogpa manifests very easily. So this is how the different experiences manifest and for this reason, the four different positions connected with the four syllables A, HO, HA, YE, are explained in the upade­ shas8. x

According to Chiigyal Namkhai Norbu's specific indications, the four

positions A HO HA YE described here are not the same as the ones transmitted in Namgyalgar in 1997: these, instead are from the terma The

Root

Upadesha on The Vajra Bridge of Longde received in a dream

by Chiigyal Namkhai Norbu. A. Clemente's translation is in italics. (See Longsal Teachings, vol. I, Shang Shung Edizioni

65

200 I,

pp.

200-203).

The sillable A represents the state of mitogpa, or empti­ ness, and has its own specific position.

The crucial (posi­ tion) of A is: the side of the left leg is on the ground, the right is bent and the right el­ bow is on the knee, the right hand strongly presses the SA and the leji hand the MI. Fe­ males do this in the op­ posite way.

Then there is the position more connected to clarity and the syllable HO.

The crucial (position) ofHO is: in half-lotus po­ sition with the trunk of the body straightened up, the right hand presses the right LI with the stick; the left hand presses the RI on the right side of the chest with the vajra jist. Females do this in the op­ posite way.

66

Another position is related to the syllable HA and the experience of sensation.

The crucial (position) of Ha is: in lotus posi­ tion with the trunk ofthe body straightened up, thefist ofthe right hand presses the right I; the shoulder is stretched up and the left fist is placed 011 the top of ones head. Females do this in the opposite way.

Then there is the position connected to YE, which is con­ nected with the non-dual state of yenned.

The crucial (position) of YE is: the right knee, fixed by the meditation belt, presses the I and the RI; the r ight hand presses the right SA; the stick presses the right Ll; the left hand presses the MI. Females do this in the opposite way.

67

These are the four positions connected with the four syl­ lables, but if it is difficult to remember them, it doesn't mat­ ter. Perhaps by using the different positions you can have specific experiences but the general position explained in the text by Dzin Dharmabodhi is universal and it's quite suf­ ficient. When you have a precise experience of visions, and you have the capacity to integrate them without being in dualism any more, then you can easily develop the practice also without the stick and meditation belt and without con­ trolling your physical body. Bit by bit, everything manifests spontaneously. Just like in the practice of Thogal, there are specific positions but they don't always have to be used. They are useful at the beginning in order to recognise how our potentiality manifests, but then, the manifestations be­ come more familiar to us, and at the end they can appear without us needing to make any particular effort.

68

7. HOW TO DO A SESSION OF THE PRACTICE OF THE FOUR DAS9 When we do a session of the practice of the Four Das, first of all we do a Guruyoga. With this aim, having done the purification of the breathing and the elements, then Refuge and Bodhichitta, we proceed in the following manner: I. Sounding AOM, we concentrate on the AOM of five colors in a thigle at the center of our body recognizing that it is the state ofNgondzog Gyalpo and of our master. Remain­ ing in this state is already Guruyoga. 2. Again soundingAOM, from theAOM in our heart lights spread, and in front of us GuruNgondzog Gyalpo manifests in space, and we recognize that Guru Ngondzog Gyalpo is our master. 3. At this point, we recite the mantra which becomes the mantra of Guruyoga to invoke and receive empowennents and wisdom. OM SHRI VAJRA MAHA SHRI HERUKA

VAJRA KROTI SHY ARI STAM RULURULU HOM BHYO HOM 4. Then we pronounce AOM again and imagine in the center of Guru Ngondzog Gyalpo an AOM from which we receive five-colored rays of light which represent the five wisdoms and all the empowennents: this visualization is very important in order to develop our capacity of vision. 9

This explanation of the Guruyoga of Ngi:indzog Gyalpo was given

by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu during a retreat at Kunsangar in June 200 I.

69

5. At this point, we recite the mantra again while con­ tinuing to receive the lights etc.

OM SHRT V AJRA MAHA SHRT HERUKA V AJRA KROTI SHY ARI STAM RULURULU HOM BHYO HOM 6. Finally we sound a last AOM and Guru Ngondzog Gyalpo is dissolved in us and is unified into our AOM of five colors. This is how we do Guruyoga as a preparation. Yet it is also sufficient, to do Guruyoga, to visualize the AOM in the

thigle and remain in the presence of the state of Guruyoga, as we usually do with the white A. In any case, the Guru­ yoga is indispensable: to omit it means not to work with the transmission. After the Guruyoga you do the practice of the Four Das, and conclude the session with the dedication of merits.

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8. EXPERIENCES OF THE PRACTICE

At the beginning, the experiences of vision are above all at the level of Nirmanakaya, in which we have pure and impure visions. The impure visions are of ordinary samsara, the pure ones are of the mandala, divinities etc. When we have more capacity and clarity, we can have visions at the Sambhogakaya level, the five Dhyani Buddhas etc. Finally, when everything has been integrated, when we are really in the state of integration and we no longer depend on vision, then visions disappear. First they develop and then they dis­ appear when we have integrated them. Until the point where we reach total integration, visions are like a method. They present themselves as a manifestation, for example, like a thigle, but when we are completely integrated in the thigle then the aspect of thigle doesn't exist any more, the idea of a thigle doesn't exist, nothing appears, we see nothing, we sim­ ply are. For this reason, we say in Thogal that the last of the four visions is called ch6zed which means to consume all dharmas, to exhaust our consideration of vision and to be in the state ofDharmakaya, no longer at the level of manifesta­ tion. If secondary causes are present, instantly something manifests as one's own qualification, but one always remains in the real condition. So there is an explanation of the different experiences. There are three experiences listed in this text. The first is called tse chig gyuma tabui nyam, or, 'the experience of a single point similar to an illusion.' T.se chig means 'single point,' but here it doesn't have the meaning of Shine in which

71

you concentrate on something through effort. It means rather to remain in the integration of vision and not move from there. With the experience of vision we enter into the real knowledge and so our consideration of subject and object, daily or karmic vision all begins to integrate in this knowl­ edge and we discover that everything is an illusion, a dream. So tse chig gyuma tabui nyam means that this knowledge becomes truly real and not something which we have edu­ cated the mind to think. This is true for our practice in general. For example, when we learn the practice of the night very well, and during sleep we become aware of our dreams, we can discover that life is a dream, a very long dream. If we limit ourselves to thinking it, we educate our mind but we don't truly feel it. With the practice of the night, however, this knowledge becomes real, and so we don't give so much weight to everything that hap­ pens, to thoughts and judgements, and we discover how lim­ ited we are. Usually, however, we give a lot of importance even to the most insignificant things, and we argue on about them for a long time. We think that things have to be a cer­ tain way and they can't be any other way. Why? What does it change? When we die, we discover in the bardo state that everything we believed to be real is meaningless. Through this practice we really feel that everything is an illusion. Someone asked me if I could teach the dream practice during the retreat, but I have already transmitted to you the practice of Guruyoga. Certainly, perhaps you don't know the dream practice, and if there's time I could explain it, but even if you don't receive all these explanations one by one, you can read them in a book because you don't need any­ thing more. The practice of the night or the natural light means to maintain the presence of the white A during sleep.

72

You do this practice before sleeping, relaxing until you fall asleep. Relax doesn't mean to get distracted, but to continue in the state of instant presence. You fall asleep but the state of presence doesn't. Maybe, at the beginning you don't realise it because you need a long time to be aware that the state of presence always continues. At the beginning you become aware of karmic dreams, those which are connected to the good and bad tensions which are deeply impressed upon consciousness and manifest in your dreams. Karmic dreams can be connected to this life or to other lives, and they often refer back to our youth. I have often dreamed of the period when I was young and in a mon­ astery and I had a lot of problems which affected me deeply, and even now I have dreams which go back to that period. Or I might dream that there are Chinese soldiers and I run away. These days, I have no more problems with the Chi­ nese. I can easily go into China. But I have these dreams because in 1957, when travelling hom East Tibet, I was afraid that the Chinese soldiers might stop me from reaching Cen­ tral Tibet because there was a rebellion going on in the East. Fortunately, somehow we succeeded. In East Tibet, there is a place called Surmang, which was Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's birthplace. There was a very important reincar­ nation in that place and I knew him well because I had met him through the Karmapa. This person was considered to be a very highly placed government official in that region. When I arrived there, therefore, I asked him to write me a letter declaring that we were all from Surmang and not from Derge, because there was a rebellion going on in Derge. So he wrote us an signed and stamped official declaration according to which we were from Surmang. Later, we showed this to the Chinese soldiers and they let us go on. Fortunately, there

73

were no Khampas with them because they would have realised immediately that we certainly weren't speaking the Surmang dialect. This is an example. So I was always afraid, day and night, and that's why I still have these dreams, which we call karmic dreams. Through the practice ofthe natural light the karmic dreams slowly diminuish and dreams of clarity develop, which usu­ ally happen in the early morning when our sleep is light. You can have karmic dreams however as soon as y ou fall asleep. When sleep is heavy, it's not easy to have dreams of clarity, the tensions which have affected us deeply can mani­ fest at any time. Gradually, as we develop dreams of clarity more and more, we become aware of our dreams. This means that we are aware that we are sleeping and that we are dreaming but we don't wake up. This is one of the manifestations of a stable presence. When we have awareness of our dreams, when we wake we notice the continuation of presence and sometimes we have the presence of the white A. All this is connected to the practice of Guruy oga and, therefore, when you have re­ ceived the transmission ofGuruyoga, you also have the pos­ sibility of doing the practice of the night, the natural light. In sleep, the function of the senses dissolves internally, however all of the essence of the elements does not dissolve as it does when we die. Sleep and death, however, are very similar. Naturally, when we die the sensations are much stron­ ger and much clearer because not only the functions of the senses but also the elements completely dissolve internally. When the practice of the night has become more familiar, in the moment when the senses dissolve internally, y ou main­ tain a prefect presence and thanks to this presence y ou have various experiences linked to the light.

74

When we fall asleep the function of the mind and the senses ceases, but usually, people in that moment are com­ pletely unconscious because they lose presence. This is called sleeping. Then gradually, the mind begins to wake up and so do the senses and this happens in four steps, which in tantric teachings are called the 'four visions': the vision like the first light of dawn in an empty sky; the vision like the rays which spread in the sky as the sun comes up, etc. Gradually, we reawaken but there is still no j udgement, and we still haven't entered into the function of the mind. A good practi­ tioner who has maintained instant presence has a vision of the clear light, odsal, through which he can also have other experiences, like visions of Sambhogakay a manifestations which he visualised during the day, for example, mandalas, divinities etc. In fact, this is a phase of passage through be­ tween the pure potentiality of sound, ray s and lights and the moment in which we enter into the function of the mind. Then, when the mind has completely woken up, we dream. When we dream it means that we have completely entered into the function of the mind. In this case the mind is con­ nected with the senses, but the senses are still not connected with the sense organs. Only the consciousness of the five senses is connected to the mind, that is the so-called mental body, j ust as it happens in the bardo. Dream is very similar to the bardo. In fact practising the natural light in a perfect way is the same as doing the bardo practice. I'm often asked what kind of practice should be done to prepare for death. Certainly, we can train ourselves in the practice of the Shitro in or

df

r tp create the possibility of waking up during the manifestations of the Sambhogakaya

and thus become realised. This is the principal preparation,

75

hut for many people it's not easy to have this realisation in their life. For example, if we die suddenly, what can we do? Somebody might say that we could do the Phowa: maybe you can do it, maybe not, it depends on the circumstances. Someone who is very well trained in Shitro could find them­ selves in the state of the manifestation of the Shitro at the moment of death. This would be fine but it's not very easy. To prepare yourself for death, the best thing to do is the Guruyoga in the morning, during the day and above all in the evening. You have to understand that sleeping and death are the same thing, there's no difference. Death is only a little heavier version of sleep in which instead of waking up the next day, you wake up in the hardo or in the next life and so a little more time has passed. The best system for prepar­ ing to die is to do the Guruyoga and the practice of the night. If you feel that you are about to die stay in the presence of the A and relax, then you die. If you succeed, then it's one hundred per cent sure that you will realise the Sambhoga­ kaya before the hardo of existence, and this is total realisa­ tion. If you really are a practitioner you must have some idea of how you should die. Nobody knows how or when we are going to die. We always think about what we are going to do next month or next year, but we don't know when we are going to die. The first thing we need to do there­ fore is to prepare ourselves for death, then, when there is time we can learn to do all sorts of other things. You don't have to do a lot of complicated practices. The best thing is always to do Guruyoga, day and night. If you've received the transmission you know how to do it. It's enough simply to relax into instant presence. This is the principal point of the Dzogchen teaching. It's important to observe yourself. If you have limits, try

76

to discover what they are. If someone shows you your limits you generally get offended, and you don't agree. You con­ tinually defend yourself saying, "No, no, I'm not limited, I'm very open." So it's better that you observe yourselves and you discover your limits on your own. Limits are the root of samsara. When you do the practices of Semde, Longde and Upadesha, you say that you are practitioners of Dzogchen, but then you never relax your tensions. So how can you define yourself as a Dzogchen practitioner? It's very important to work on this point. You can do the practice of the night, you can train by day by seeing everything as a dream, as Buddha Shakyamuni said. You say, "Yes, I agree with Buddha, but. .." There are always a lot of 'buts', and then you go on maintaining your samsaric position and you always defend it. The second experience is that of rochig tongpanyidkyi nyam. Rochig means one taste. Here we have the capacity to integrate. For example, we know that there are good and bad experiences, pleasant and unpleasant, etc. but when we are in instant presence we discover that there is no differ­ ence between them because this state is beyond every expe­ rience or concept. All possibilities may exist but the flavour is the same. This is not a philosophical discourse, it's a con­ crete experience which becomes a concrete realisation. The last experience is called trodral namkha tabui nyam. Trodral means beyond concepts, like the sky which has nei­ ther limits nor confines nor fom1 but in which all may mani­ fest. Or it's like a minor in which any colour or form may manifest. Even an immense mountain with all its colours and fom1s can manifest in a small mirror. In the same way, in the state of contemplation, everything is integrated, noth­ ing is missing, and everything can manifest without any prob-

77

lem. If this experience manifests in a concrete and stable way, it means that we are totally realised, but even if we are not at this level, if we train ourselves well, we can have this experience at least for a limited time. Therefore it is impor­ tant to work concretely and not only with our fantasy. We begin by observing ourselves and so we can discover the root of our problems and samsara and we can understand how to work for our realisation. Then, the practice ofDzog­ chen Semde or Longde becomes very concrete and brings many benefits. So we have seen the three principal experiences which are briefly explained in the root text. This is more or less the essence of the practice of the Dzogchen Longde. Now, you can try it out and apply it. Use the positions, which I have explained, and try to find yourself in the state of instant pres­ ence. This is important. It is the base of contemplation. Then we'll know what it is that we have to develop. Otherwise, we learn and use many methods but we are lacking the base. It's like working in a field where we haven't planted any seeds. It doesn't have much sense. In all the teachings of Dzogchen Semde, Longde and Upadesha we must never forget that the essence is Guru­ yoga. Through Guruyoga we maintain the transmission and the samaya. ln Dzogchen, samaya doesn't mean a commit­ ment to recite mantras or to do the tantric practices of trans­ formation every day. I don't ask you this. I only ask you to maintain the principle of instant presence as much as pos­ sible in your daily life. Your commitment is to try to be present and aware. This doesn't mean that you are prohib­ ited from being distracted, no one can forbid you to be dis­ tracted, it happens to everybody that they become distracted, even good practitioners, but it's important to recognise dis-

traction and not be indifferent. At the beginning you might be distracted for many hours; after a few weeks,

a

little less;

gradually you progress until presence continues just about all the time. Remember that there a two different kinds of presence. The first requires that you remind yourself that you have to be present and aware of distraction, and this certainly requires an effort and therefore tension and contin­ ued attention. This is not true contemplation but it is a very important phase in order to reach it. When you have the possibility, practice the Four Das or the Semdzins so that you can find instant presence. Then try to maintain it. In this way, contemplation will become ever more familiar to you, and without needing any particular position or other supports, you can always remain in this state, as it is explained in the Four Chogzhags, and gradu­ ally daily life becomes contemplation. The most important thing is to observe yourselves, to see how many tensions there are; to relax and not give too much weight to things. A lot of people get worried about the correct way to hold the vajra and bell, but these things really don't have any impor­

tance. It is important to do the night practice, however. Life then becomes a lot less heavy and automatically, without any ef­ fort, you succeed in not giving so much importance to things. If we practise then we have to have the results otherwise something isn't working. What's lacking is certainly not that we don't know how to do the mudras properly or how to recite the mantras perfectly. What's missing is integration. Some people get very worried that they can't do the mudras properly or they don't know the correct pronunciation of the mantras, but this is not the ,principal point. The principal

point is to integrate life into instant presence and to know

79

how the real condition is. Life is really like a big dream. And when are we going to wake up? We wake up in the

bardo, and then, according to our karma, we can be reborn into another life in which we think once again that every­ thing is real while it is only a dream. And when that dream is finished, once again we find ourselves in the bardo, then there will be another life, another dream and so

011.

This is

called samsara. The same happens to us in life, every day. Tonight we go to sleep and tomorrow we wake up to another day, we live through tomorrow and then we go to sleep and so on. This continuation is what we call life. Understanding this helps us to live in society. Everything which we think is so important is only relative. Today it might be important but tomorrow it isn't any more. If we consider something to be important then it becomes so, but if we relax, nothing is important, every thing becomes very easy. To relax is the best practice.

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APPENDIX THE VAIROCHANA'S UPADESHA ON THE FOUR D AS

This translation is adapted from Vairocana �·Secret Instructions on the Four Signs

edited by F. Andrico and A. Clemente with the precious help of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, 1981.

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