The Dzogchen Primer

by Marcia Schmidt

  So you see, it is possible to lose the conduct in the view. It is also possible to lose the view in the conduct. Caring for others, helping them with medicine and education, is definitely virtuous. However, it must be done out of an attitude of the four immeasurables, without any selfish aims for fame and respect, and without dwelling on the idea “I am doing good! I am kind to others!” To act out of the four immeasurables creates virtuous karma of the general conditioned kind. Helping others out of a pure selfless motivation is the best form of conditioned virtue; it is truly wonderful!

  Unconditioned virtue, on the other hand, is the training in thought-free wakefulness. Many people ask, “How does sitting in meditation practice help others? It would be much better to go out and give them food and medical care and build them schools.” People may have the attitude of wanting to act for the welfare of others before having accomplished anything themselves. Helping others is definitely virtuous, and it does help them somewhat. You of course create good karma by helping others, but such altruistic action does not necessarily mean you will be liberated. Only after liberation can you immeasurably benefit all beings.

  The most important technique for avoiding pitfalls on the path is knowledge and trust in the Dharma. Knowledge means comprehension of what is and what is not true, through studying and understanding the teachings. The real knowledge, however, that which we should really be diligent in, is understanding the view. View, meditation, conduct, and fruition all depend on the view. Diligence in meditation involves the development stage, while diligence in conduct refers to the bodhisattva trainings.

  A very important factor is an unchanging trust in the Three Jewels. You can gain it by considering this: without the Precious Buddha, wouldn’t this world be totally blind? How could anyone reach liberation from samsara or the omniscient state of enlightenment? It is solely through studying and following his flawless words, the Precious Dharma, that our congenitally blind eyes will open. Without someone to uphold and transmit these teachings through the spoken and written word, the teachings would surely have died out. The Buddha would have appeared and taught and then nothing; the whole process would not have taken even a hundred years. That we still have the Buddha’s teachings available today is thanks to the Precious Sangha, consisting mainly of the great bodhisattvas on the ten bhumis, the sons of the victorious ones, and the arhats. My role is to be teaching the Dharma, and regardless of whether it is pretense or not, I definitely have received the blessings of the Precious Sangha. When I think about it, the kindness of the Three Jewels is absolutely incredible! So how can I help having trust in them?

  Knowledge, the other factor, is what helps us to distinguish between what is and what is not true. In ancient times, the Buddha taught that there were 360 religions and belief systems prevalent in the world. These were also called the “360 wrong views” because they were incorrect, consisting mainly of different varieties of eternalism and nihilism. The Buddha taught the true view. There is a simple reason for this: a sentient being cannot realize the correct view that is unmixed with concepts, because the mind of any sentient being is conceptual. The only way to transcend conceptual mind is to follow the words of a fully awakened one, a buddha.

  Knowledge is what distinguishes between truth and untruth, between what is correct meditation training and what is not. As we gradually progress through deeper levels of learning, as our knowledge broadens, our fixation automatically diminishes. Isn’t fixation and clinging the root of samsara? When there is no more clinging to painful or pleasant situations, we are free from samsara. As Tilopa said, “You are not bound by what you experience, but by your clinging to it. So cut through your clinging, Naropa!”

  It is also said, “The sign of learning is to be gentle and disciplined.” Imagine a piece of paper burned in the fire—it becomes totally soft. A sense of peace is the true sign of learnedness. “The sign of meditation training is a decrease in disturbing emotions,” meaning that the training of looking into mind essence dissolves your three or five poisons, which is the unrecognized expression of your essence. This occurs the moment you recognize it. The disturbing emotions vanish without a trace, like flames extinguished.

  Sentient beings chase around after all sorts of myriad things. Now is the time to take a rest. Otherwise, we will continue to roam around in samsaric existence. Nothing other than mindfulness can really block off or halt your karma. It is our karmic actions and disturbing emotions that force us to wander through samsara, and it is these karmic actions and disturbing emotions that we need to relinquish. Don’t we need to stop being under their control? The moment of the view does not lie subject to karma and disturbing emotions. The view is the real reason the buddhas are not under the power of karma and disturbing emotions; they have captured the stronghold of the view.

  Realizing the view, authentically and totally, melts away the obscurations of karma and disturbing emotions, and this allows the qualities of original wakefulness to unfold. This is the real meaning of “buddha,” the awakened state of mind. If you could truly allow this to happen, wouldn’t that then be the absence of all defects and the perfection of all virtues? The correct view is what clears away all faults. Stability in the view reveals the essential nature of mind free of obscurations, like the sky that cannot be dyed any color or to which nothing can adhere. Yet the sky itself is not something that can vanish. Please understand this vital point!

  It is often said that to plan to practice sometime in the future is to let obstacles slip in before the practice even begins. Most people let the time slide by, thinking, “I really want to practice the Dharma more and I will surely do so later on in my life!” Other people may believe that the time has come to act for the welfare of others, while in fact they do not possess the qualifications to effectively do so. They think, “Now I will teach! I can really help others! I can make a difference!” Then they run about in the world pretending to work for sentient beings.

  Generally speaking, Westerners are quite sharp when it comes to comprehending the natural state. If they would also practice it afterward! And not only the natural state: we need to train ourselves to exert effort in virtuous actions. Engaging in evil requires no effort at all; it is spontaneous. Killing others, stealing their possessions, lying, and so forth require almost no effort at all. One need not teach insects how to kill each other. No sentient being needs training in the three negative karmic actions of the body carried out on the physical plane; we engage in them quite spontaneously. Even animals needn’t be taught how to kill.

  Without having to study, we know quite naturally how to carry out the four negative actions of speech: lying, using harsh words, slandering, and engaging in idle gossip. No one needs to train in the three negative actions of mind: ill will, craving, and holding wrong ideas. We all seem to know quite well how to carry out these activities. Sentient beings are already experts; it happens quite spontaneously due to the ripening of past karma. Dharma, on the other hand, is something we need to study.

  To roll a big boulder up to the top of a mountain, we need to push it all the way up. But to let it roll down into the valley, we need not do much; we let go and it rolls down all by itself. Nudge a stone and it will roll downhill all by itself, but there is no such thing as a stone that rolls uphill. In the same way, we do not need to study how to engage in negative actions. Sometimes, when giving in to the impetus to carry out a negative action we are under the power of karma. At other times we feel faith in the teachings; we feel good-hearted, compassionate, and devout, and so forth, yet this is very rare. That is why it is said, “Those who don’t practice are as abundant as the stars at night; those who do practice are as scarce as morning stars.” This is due to karma.

  For those with good karma, the situation is different. A great Kagyü master sang, “Even in my mother’s womb, my spiritual aspirations were awakened and I had the desire to practice. At the age of eight, I remained in equanimity.” That’s an example of good karma ripening.

&n
bsp; Again, although you may have a very high view, you should still keep a refined level of training. Here, refined means that you pay close attention to and remember impermanence and your mortality. When you reach the point of not being distracted from the recognition of mind essence, impermanence is not such an important issue. If something is impermanent, let it be impermanent; if it is not, then it is not. Only when you have no distraction whatsoever do you not need to think about impermanence.

  “High view” in this case means to pay close attention to how things are, such as impermanence. “Good meditation” does not only mean being skilled in the development stage or yogic exercises; it means facing the fact that everything is impermanent. It also means reaching the point of nondistraction. In other words, one does not sleep at night; one does not fall into the delusory dream state, but is able to recognize dreams as dreams. During deep sleep, there is a continuous long stretch of luminous wakefulness. When one reaches this point, there is no need to dwell on impermanence anymore.

  The Tibetan word for enlightenment is jangchub, which means “purified perfection,” or in Sanskrit, bodhi. Literally, this means the complete purification of the two obscurations, along with habitual tendencies, and the perfection of all qualities of wisdom. It is like a lotus bud that, having grown out of the mud, fully blooms. Until this occurs, we should practice as the masters of the past advise: “Go to a retreat place, either in a forest or in the mountains. In a remote, quiet spot, take a comfortable seat, supplicate your guru one-pointedly, and inspire yourself by thinking of impermanence with compassion.”

  In Kham, there is a saying, “When you want to boil water, you can blow on the flames or pump the bellows, as long as the water boils.” In the same way, if all the different practices we do benefit our stream-of-being, then that’s fine. If you can remain in nondual awareness without meditating and without being distracted, everything is fine. But if your nondual awareness is merely imagined, or if you try to construct it in meditation, it will remain merely a concept. If awareness becomes carried away, then you are in delusion. The key term here is “undistracted nonmeditation.” When nondual awareness is totally free of confusion and distraction, then your water has really boiled.

  Adapted from Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Rainbow Painting (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1995), “Conduct.”

  7

  PADMASAMBHAVA’S OVERVIEW OF THE PATH

  Jamgön Kongtrül

  EXPLANATION OF THE PATH THAT CAUSES REALIZATION

  There are two parts: A short statement by means of a summary and the detailed explanation of that.

  Short Statement by Means of a Summary

  The Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo root text says:

  The stages of the path that bring about realization are innumerable.

  Purify your being, sow the seeds, and cultivate them.

  Remove the hindrances, and likewise bring forth enhancement.

  Thus, enter the correct path through these five aspects.

  An inconceivable number of stages of the paths of Sutra and Mantra have been taught as the methods that bring about realization of the inseparability of ground and fruition. Yet, when condensing these into one vital essence, the way to purify your being is like tilling a hard virgin field; the way to sow the seeds of ripening and freeing is like planting grain free from defects; the way to nurture them is like the endeavor in the acts of farming such as giving water and fertilizer; the way to remove the hindrances of the path is like the exertion in protecting against hailstorms and the like; and the way to bring forth enhancement of qualities is like applying the means for improvement such as bringing rain, and so forth.11

  Enter therefore thoroughly the correct path by training correctly in the path through these five aspects, and thus, you will realize the fruition of liberation, like the fully ripened crops.

  Detailed Explanation

  This includes five steps: purifying your being; sowing the seeds; cultivating them; removing hindrances; and bringing forth enhancement.

  PURIFYING YOUR BEING

  This has two points: the way to follow a spiritual guide, the root of the path, and, having followed him, the way of mind training.

  From Padmasambhava and Jamgön Kongtrül, The Light of Wisdom, Volume I (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1998).

  8

  ADVICE ON HOW TO PRACTICE THE DHARMA CORRECTLY

  Padmasambhava

  Padmakara, the master of Uddiyana, resided at Samye after being invited to Tibet by the king. He gave numerous teachings to the king, his chieftains, and other devoted people in the eastern part of the central temple. Since they didn’t understand correctly, he gave this advice repeatedly.

  Master Padma said: No matter how much I teach, the people of Tibet don’t understand; instead they engage in nothing other than perverted actions. If you want to practice the Dharma from the core of your heart, do like this:

  To be a Buddhist lay person (upasaka) doesn’t just mean to observe the four root precepts; it means to cast unvirtuous misdeeds far away. To be a novice (shramana) doesn’t merely mean to assume a pure exterior; it means to practice virtue correctly. To be a monk (bhikshu) doesn’t only mean to control body, speech, and mind in daily activities and to be forbidden to do all kinds of things; it means to bring all roots of virtue to the path of great enlightenment.

  To be virtuous doesn’t simply mean to wear yellow robes; it means to fear the ripening of karma. To be a spiritual friend doesn’t just mean to assume a dignified demeanor; it means to be the glorious protector of everyone. To be a yogi doesn’t merely mean to behave crudely; it means to mingle one’s mind with the nature of dharmata.

  To be a mantrika doesn’t just mean to mutter incantations [with a malevolent attitude]; it means to swiftly attain enlightenment through the path of uniting means and knowledge. To be a meditator doesn’t simply mean to live in a cave; it means to train oneself in the true meaning [of the natural state]. To be a hermit doesn’t just mean to live in the deep forest; it means that one’s mind is free from dualistic constructs.

  To be learned doesn’t only mean to uphold the eight worldly concerns; it means to distinguish between right and wrong.12 To be a bodhisattva doesn’t mean to retain self-interest within; it means to exert oneself in the means of liberating all sentient beings from samsara.

  To have faith doesn’t mean to whimper; it means to enter the right path out of fear of death and rebirth. To be diligent doesn’t mean to engage in various restless activities; it means to exert oneself in the means of leaving samsaric existence behind. To be generous doesn’t merely mean to give with bias and partiality; it means to be profoundly free from attachment to anything whatsoever.

  Oral instruction doesn’t mean many written books; it means a few words that strike the vital point of meaning in your mind. View doesn’t simply mean philosophical opinion; it means to be free from the limitations of mental constructs. Meditation doesn’t mean to fixate on something with thought; it means your mind is stable in natural cognizance, free from fixation.

  Spontaneous action doesn’t just mean to act with crazy abandon; it means to be free from fixation on deluded perceptions as being real. Discriminating knowledge (prajña) doesn’t mean the sharp intellect of mistaken thought; it means to understand that all phenomena are nonarising and devoid of mental constructs.

  Learning doesn’t just mean to receive teachings through one’s ears; it means to cut through misconceptions and have realization beyond conceptual mind. Reflecting doesn’t only mean to pursue conceptual thinking and form assumptions; it means to cut through your deluded clinging. Fruition doesn’t only mean the rupakayas invited down from Akanishtha; it means to recognize the nature of mind and attain stability in that.

  Don’t mistake mere words to be the meaning of the teachings. Mingle the practice with your own being and attain liberation from samsara right now.

  From Padmasambhava, Advice from the Lotus-Born (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publicatio
ns, 1996), “Advice on How to Practice the Dharma Correctly.”

  9

  THE QUALIFIED MASTER

  Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

  Before setting out on the path of liberation and enlightenment, we need to meet a true qualified master. To find such a person we must first understand the characteristics that such an individual exemplifies. When we go to school we need a good teacher. If your teacher is a complete moron without any skill, how can you learn anything from him? In the same way, the kind of spiritual teacher we are looking for is a person who can guide us all the way to liberation and the omniscient state of enlightenment. Isn’t that true?

  “Liberation” means taking rebirth in a pure buddhafield after this life. The “omniscient state of enlightenment” is complete buddhahood endowed with all perfect qualities and totally free from any defects whatsoever. We should be seeking the kind of teacher who can surely lead us to that state. The most qualified teacher is called a “vajra-holder possessing the three precepts.” He or she should possess the perfect qualities of being outwardly endowed with the vows of individual liberation, called pratimoksha, while inwardly possessing the trainings of a bodhisattva. On the innermost level, the qualified master must be competent in the true state of samadhi.