Dzogchen, "the Great Perfection", which teaches the Path of Self-Liberation, is traditionally regarded in Tibet as the highest and most profound teaching of the Buddha. Introduced into Tibet in the eighth century of our era by the great Buddhist Tantric master Padmasambhava, who came from the country of Uddiyana in Central Asia, Dzogchen has been preserved until the present day, especially among the Nyingmapa and Kagyudpa schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In terms of meditation practice, Dzogchen distinguishes between "the mind", or the normal thought process that is cyclical and samsaric in nature, and "the Nature of Mind", which is the primordial state of enlightenment that lies beyond all time, conditioning, and causality. Although inconceivable by the finite intellect and inexpressible in words, as the very ground of our existence as living beings, this Natural State can be directly encountered within our immediate experience. By way of direct introduction and meditation practice, this primordial, yet everpresent, state of Buddhahood, which resides at the very core of every individual living being, is revealed like the brilliant face of the sun in the sky when the dark clouds of ignorance and delusion are dissipated. This will be an introductory workshop for Dzogchen and some other methods of Buddhist meditation, with an emphasis on practice and how meditation can be integrated into one's daily life.

When the Tibetan king Trisong Detsan attempted to erect the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye in the 8th cen. CE, his efforts were opposed by the local gods and spirits who were addicted to the receiving of blood sacrifices. They knew well that the Buddhist monks of India were opposed to such practices. Advised by the scholar Shantirakshita, the king invited to Tibet the great Tantric master Padmasambhava from Uddiyana. Later known as Guru Rinpoche, this master was able to subdue these local gods and spirits in fierce magical combat, converting them to the Dharma. Binding them with powerful oaths, he comissioned them henceforth to be guardians and protectors of the Dharma and its practitioners. Hence they are known as Dharmapalas. Since that time, every Tibetan Buddhist monastery after sunset performs the Rites of the Guardians, invoking and propiating these gods and spirits with puja offerings. We will examine these rites and rituals instituted by Padmasambhava, including those for the special protectors of Dzogchen, especially with regard to how we, as human beings, can re-establish a harmonious relationship with the nature spirits who inhabit our natural environment.

The Nyingmapas, “the Ancient Ones,” represent the oldest school of Tibetan Buddhism and this tradition was established by the followers of Guru Padmasambhava who had brought Vajrayana, the Tantric form of Buddhism, from India to Tibet in the 8th century of our era. In parallel to the better known monastic system of Buddhism, he established in Tibet the practice lineage of the Ngakpa Lamas, or married yogi practitioners of the Buddhist Tantras. However, Padmasambhava was not of Indian origin, but was born in the mysterious Central Asian country of Uddiyana, the fabled land of the Dakinis, and coming later to India, he received teachings from many of the great Buddhist masters of his time, including Prabhahasti and Shrisimha. It was Padmasambhava who introduced the teachings and practices of both Dzogchen and Tantra into Tibet.

The highest and most quintessential teaching in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet is known as Atiyoga or Dzogchen, “the Great Perfection,” which is revealed and discovered within oneself by way of a direct introduction to the primordial state of Buddhahood residing at the core of each individual human being. This state, which is, at the same time, the Nature of Mind, lies beyond the mind—indeed, beyond all time, conditioning, and causality. Like the sun in the sky, but with its face concealed by the clouds, it is primordially present, illuminating all our successive lifetimes as the source of our being. It is not developed through effort or study, but discovered in all its primordial purity and spontaneous perfection by way of the state of contemplation.

During the first part of the retreat, we shall focus in terms of meditation practice on the Dzogchen Longde practices of Shrisimha and Vairochana, which represent the most effective and powerful methods of sky meditation within the Tibetan tradition. During the second part of the workshop, we shall focus on the process of transformation according to the Mahayoga Tantras of the Nyingmapa tradition, especially as they were revealed in the Termas, or hidden treasure texts, of HH Dudjom Rinpoche, including the Chime Sogtik, the Tsokyi Thugtik, and the Khandro Norlha.

The highest and most quintessential teaching in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, known as Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, reveals by way of a direct introduction the primordial state of Buddhahood residing at the core of each individual human being. This state, which is at the same time the Nature of Mind, lies beyond the mind-- indeed, beyond all time, conditioning, and causality. Like the sun in the sky, but with its face concealed by the clouds, it is primordially present, illuminating all our successive lifetimes as the source of our being. It is not developed through effort or study, but discovered effortlessly in all its primordial purity and spontaneous perfection through the process of meditation.

Central to Dzogchen is the practice of contemplation- the immediate experience of the primordial state of the individual, the unconditioned Nature of Mind. This Nature of Mind, which is like a mirror, transcends the temporal flux, the incessant flow of thoughts reflecting our social, cultural, and psychological conditioning. These specific contents of mind, the beginningless stream of consciousness which we call Samsara, are like the reflections in the mirror. Dzogchen takes us beyond the mind and its conditioning to the primordial state of Buddhahood and its intrinsic freedom known as Nirvana.

Furthermore, there exist two ancient and authentic lineages of transmission for the teachings and practices of the Dzogchen of Tibet. According to the Nyingmapa tradition, the Dzogchen teachings were brought from India to Tibet in the 8th century of our era by the Buddhist masters Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, and Vairochana. Whereas in the Bonpo tradition, these same teachings were brought from Zhang-zhung to the west of Tibet by the Bonpo masters Tapihritsa and Gyerpungpa, also in the 8th century. But both of these lineages assert that the Dzogchen teachings, revealed by the Primordial Buddha Kuntu Zangpo, came originally from a now lost, mysterious land in Central Asia, variously known as Olmoling, Uddiyana, and Shambhala.

We shall examine the Dzogchen teachings of both of these Tibetan traditions during this two day course, but shall focus, both in terms of teaching and practice, on the meditation practice of the Rushsans and Semdzin in order to discover how the mind works and its relationship to the primordial state of the individual.