Dzogchen

[As background, see Dzogchen in Comparison with Other Buddhist Systems. See also: The Major Facets of Dzogchen] What is Mind? The four facts of life (four noble truths) may be formulated in terms of mind, which means in terms of an individual being’s experiencing of them: The...

Recognizing the Alaya for Habits In dzogchen meditation, we first access and recognize the alaya for habits, then effulgent rigpa, and then essence rigpa. How to recognize the alaya for habits? The alaya for habits gives rise to seeing and hearing, as well as to imagining and...

The Different Lineages of Mahamudra In general, we could gain a decisive understanding of voidness with respect to any basis characterized by voidness, or having voidness as its nature, such as a vase. There is no difference in the abiding devoid nature itself of a vase or...

Different Presentations of the Four Types of Seals The text continues now with the next point in the outline, the actual methods of mahamudra. Although mahamudra practice can be explained in many ways, it divides it into two: the sutra and tantra levels of mahamudra methods....

The Authenticity of the Traditions of the Dohas and Dzogchen In the root text, the Fourth Panchen Lama states that the explanation of anuttarayoga tantra's complete stage level of mahamudra practice is in accordance with "The Seven Texts of the Mahasiddhas and The Three Core...

Review  We have been speaking about self-voidness and other-voidness and, so far, we are restricting our discussion to the Gelug assertions, although Gelug does not use the terms self-voidness and other-voidness for its own assertions. Some non-Gelug masters, however, do...

Realizing the Voidness of Mind Itself Once we have gained conviction in the lack of true and inherent identity on the basis of our own "self," we turn to the basis of other persons or individuals and then to the massive network of all other phenomena. We examine voidness...

The nine vehicles in Nyingma refer to levels of practice that function like a vehicle of mind to bring us to the goal of liberation and enlightenment. Three of the nine are sutra methods, while the remaining six are tantra.

Dzogchen explains the Buddhist path from the point of view of its final steps and resultant state. Learn the unique features of this system of meditation on the nature of the mind and how they contrast with those of mahamudra, Chan (Zen), anuttarayoga tantra and vipassana.

Dzogchen is found earliest in the Nyingma and Bon traditions and later incorporated into some of the Kagyu traditions. Learn about its historical development in Tibet from the 8th century to the present.