An Overview of Buddhism and
An Appreciation of Our Tradition
By Lama Surya Das
(Bag 4)
Our Tradition: Dzogchen Practice and �Samaya�
Longchenpa, the greatest Dzogchen master of Tibet, in the 14th century sang:
Since things are perfect just as they are,
far beyond good and bad, adopting and rejecting,
one might as well burst out laughing.
far beyond good and bad, adopting and rejecting,
one might as well burst out laughing.
That is why the traditional Dzogchen teachings talk about the Twelve Great Laughs of the Primordial Buddha: there is plenty to laugh about!
In Dzogchen there is a great deal of emphasis on naturalness and spontaneity, authenticity, openness, joy, and lightness. These qualities imply a levity, a sense of the cosmic absurdity of things, which suffuses the Dzogchen teaching and practice with a delightful buoyancy. That is why they are termed in Tibetan as the Luminous Innate Great Perfection, or Swift and Comfy Dzogchen teachings and pith-instructions.
Dzogchen itself is always explained according to the Three Vital Points of View (outlook), Meditation (practice), and Action (conduct). The View is seeing things as they are, in all
their radiant purity and perfection. The Meditation is called non-meditation, for its emphasizes being more than doing--�resting in the View,� in technical terms. Having glimpsed even once how things are, perfect and of one wholly complete nature, then we can let them be as they are, free from pushing and pulling, or attachment-desire and aversion-aggression. The simple and subtle Dzogchen Meditation of getting used to that View is called non-meditation-- in other words, not so much do-ing as Be-ing. Sometimes in meditation we get involved in many do-ings; here, the meditation is more about be-ing. And then from that naturally evolves the Action--not pre-meditated, compulsive karmic action, but pro-active, spontaneous Buddha activity, appropriate to needs and circumstances. One�s conduct in life becomes not mere habitual, conditioned, karmic activity, which is more often mere reactivity, but pro-active, spontaneous, helpful, unimpeded Buddha activity.
That is why my own late guru Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche always stressed these three pithy instructions for meditation practice:
'Not doing;
not constructing or fabricating;
and not-distracted.'
not constructing or fabricating;
and not-distracted.'
In the Dzogchen practice path we practice this non-dual approach, introducing and realizing our own original, inherent, immanent Buddha nature-our intrinsic Buddha-ness. This is not just your own personal Buddha nature, but transpersonal spiritual nature. Not your own thoughts and meditation, but Dzogchen meditation, which is natural meditation, since it relies more on being and on resting in the View than on doing and becoming something other than what you are. Dzogchen is not conceptual contemplation or fabricated, mental meditation; nor is it
concentrating one-pointedly so that later we can gain insights and eventually realize enlightenment. Dzogchen is about realizing the inherent freedom and perfection of being in itself, as it is right now, which can be experienced as the inherent completeness of our true nature, our Buddha nature. Awakening to that is the direct path of Dzogchen. That is why Dzogchen masters say that we are all Buddhas by nature; we just have to recognize that fact.
Dzogchen can�t really be taught or learned from books; it can�t be taught, but it can be caught; it can be transmitted and realized. This is where transmission, through connection with an authentic master, comes in. In order to realize enlightenment through the path of Dzogchen, it is traditionally taught and emphasized that one needs an authentic and qualified lineage-holding master to introduce one to the Dzogchen View, Meditation, and
Action. All Dzogchen masters stress this essential point, which distinguishes the Mahamudra and Dzogchen tradition from some of the other, non-Vajrayana Buddhist vehicles, in which the teacher and transmission is far less stressed. Some of us emphasize the role of the teacher a little less today, so as to simplify the entry process for Western students, demystify some of the terms and stages, and provide more direct access to the profound depths of our practice tradition. But for those of us with the karmic affinity, inclination, and opportunity to benefit by that unique relationship, the spiritual teacher plays a vital role in our path of awakening.
In the Dzogchen tradition specifically, one needs to be empowered to practice the three main Dzogchen practices of Ru-shen (Subtle Discernment); Trekchod (�Cutting Through, or Seeing Through); and Togal (Leap Over, or Being There). Trekchod is
mainly what I teach at my Dzogchen Center and its intensive meditation retreats, along with the supportive practices of chanting, sitting, self-inquiry, and Mahayana attitude-transformation (lo-jong), and lovingkindness and compassion meditations (such as Chenrayzig and Tara practices).
We don�t really talk much in terms of vows and samaya in Dzogchen, because the principle is to stabilize your realization of the View; if you�re in the View, you�re in accordance with your own true nature, which is Buddha nature. In Dzogchen the commitment is to the subtle, profound, mystical principles of enlightened vision such as �one-taste� (tse-chik) and �beyond-action� (ja-drel). Ja-drel or �free from action and inaction� is similar to wu-wei in Taoism and Zen, which means nonaction or beyond striving-that is, beyond action and also beyond inaction. Thus we
have the famous Dzogchen notion of Buddhahood without meditation�the title of one of Dudjom Lingpa�s books. Another way of putting it is, Buddha nature does not depend on our cultivation of it. Buddha nature is innate, inherent, immanent in us. It�s our true original nature. It doesn�t depend on our construction projects, on building a bridge across the ocean of samsara to get to �the other shore�. Buddha nature is human nature, as Zen master Suzuki Roshi put it in his classic Zen Mind, Beginner�s Mind. When you become truly you, then Buddha becomes Buddha, and zen becomes true zen. Until then, it is all fabrication. Dzogchen thought reminds us that we may feel far from It, but It is never far from us.
Another way of talking about Dzogchen samaya--about commitment to reality as it truly is beyond our projections--is in terms of the Four Rivets of the
View and the Two Principles of Dzogchen. The Four Rivets of the View are: medpa (not-a- thing), chikphu (oneness, coherence), chelwa (all-pervasiveness), and lhundrup (spontaneous presence or perfect manifestation). These are qualities of the View, and studying and experiencing them allows us to recognize when we�re deviating from it.
The Two Principles of Dzogchen--which, incidentally, are not written about much in English--are kadak, or Primordial Purity, and lhundrup, or Spontaneous Perfection/Perfect Manifestation-Appearance. Kadak means primordial purity, or primordial perfection--pure and immaculate from the beginningless beginning; this introduces the radiant perfection of things as they are, as well as the immaculate wholeness and spiritual splendor of our innate true nature. Lhundrup means that this blessed reality is spontaneously present and perfectly manifesting every moment
unimpededly, throughout inconceivable Buddhiverses of time and space. In other words, the teaching is that our true nature is primordially empty, open and void (sunyata), groundless, and not-a-thing, while it�s also primordially manifesting its perfect and boundless, spontaneous splendor as everyone and everything, and as any and every form and occurrence. In this splendid, overarching View, everything is It.
This ultimate teaching about absolute truth or reality builds upon the Mahayana notions of the inseparability of form and emptiness, samsara and nirvana. From the Mahayana scriptures, The Heart Sutra of Transcendental Wisdom says: �Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Form is no other than emptiness, emptiness shapes up as form.� This unified vision theory helps us awaken to the stunning mystical fact that the sublime and the mundane, the sacred and the profane, are
inseparable--not necessarily one, but not two either. Accordingly, in the ultimate teaching about absolute reality, its purity, completeness, and perfection are emphasized. This is the conceptual, Buddhological support for practical cultivation of the pure perception or sacramental vision that everything is Buddha-ness, everyone is Buddha by nature, and everything is essentially radiant luminosity. What an amazing and marvelous way to experience the world, to the extent that we can learn to do so authentically!
This luminous View of the Natural Great Perfection transcends the dualism of perfect and imperfect. It implies that everything is primordially complete as is, and uninhibitedly, inexhaustibly, spontaneously manifesting. We don�t have to inhibit, alter, or adulterate anything in our experience; we can simply appreciate it as it as, and make more wise and informed decisions
about how skillfully to work with things according to conditions and circumstances. We don�t have to try to become perfect or stop thinking and feeling--not to mention try to make others change according to our own notions of how they could or should be! The nature of the mind is primordially perfect as it is, and all its myriad manifestations are as well--thoughts, feelings, perceptions, memories, or whatever arises in the body-mind complex.
This understanding has tremendous implications for our meditation practice and helps develop, deepen, and eventually stabilize our View, our Meditation, and our Action. When we realize the immaculate, primordial perfection of things, we do not fall into perfectionism nor become oblivious to what needs to be done or what is broken and in need of repair, either internally or externally. Realizing the View of natural perfection,
wholeness, and completeness naturally results in the uninhibited outflow of spontaneous, selfless, proactive Buddha activity. Compassionate responsiveness naturally springs from recognizing the View of things as they are; in fact, there is less of oneself to get in the way of unconditional loving responsiveness, according to needs and circumstances. The inner sun of wisdom--the View--naturally radiates its boundless rays of warm lovingkindness and service to all, everywhere, without bias. (Bersambung)
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