1. There is no view on which one has to meditate.

2. There is no commitment, nor vows, one has to keep.

3. There is no capacity for spiritual action one has to seek.

4. There is no mandala one has to create.

5. There is no initiation one has to receive.

6. There is no path one has to tread.

7. There are no levels of realization one has to achieve through purification.

8. There is no conduct one has to adopt, or abandon.

9. From the beginning, self-arising Wisdom has been free of obstacles.

10. Self-perfection is beyond hope and fear.

Source: https://www.lotuspress.com/products/gospel-of-garab-dorje-the-highest-secret-teachings-of-tibetan-buddhism-990617

Are there retreats - or other opportunities for Dzochen empowerment in 2025?

I will be in the US in January, South America February - March, Europe April - May, and SE Asia June - July, and Mexico - August.

Are there any retreats that would fit the travel schedule?

"The tradition of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and other masters of his caliber is to focus on the simple approach of a meditator, an approach that is saturated with direct, pithy instructions. This is a tradition of plainly and simply stating things as they are, while allowing the student to gain personal experience by alternating questions with advice.

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche teaches in a style called 'instruction through personal experience'. He has spent many years in retreat, practicing in the sense of assimilating the teachings within his experience. Consequently, he speaks from experience, expressing what he himself has undergone. Such teachings are unique, and at times his way of phrasing instructions is amazing. Sometimes they are not particularly eloquent, but always his words have a strongly beneficial impact on the listener's mind. I find that just half an hour of Rinpoche's teachings is more beneficial than reading through volumes of books. That is the effect of instruction through personal experience.

To teach that the enlightened essence is present within the mind of any sentient being; to teach how this essence is, directly, so it can be recognized within the listener's experience; to show the need for recognizing it and the tremendous benefit of doing so; to show clearly how at that moment the buddha, the awakened state, needs not to be sought for elsewhere but is present within yourself; and that you become enlightened through experiencing what was always present within you - that is what Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche teaches."

(from the preface of Rainbow Painting)

Time to rejoice in wondrous bright, stainless awareness!

PHET!

This is a follow-up to my previous post about my retreat with Lama Lena that you can find here. Not long after I posted, several members of the community raised concerns that I underestimated the importance of Ordinary Ngondro/contemplation on the four thoughts that turn the mind. In order to settle this, I e-mailed Lama Lena and she encouraged me to spend one to two months doing the Ordinary Ngondro before trying to “find my mind” again. Looks like my work for the foreseeable future is cut out.

I recently sat Lama Lena’s public Inner Mind Rushen Retreat. Within the 24 hours between the two teachings, I sat seven times for a span of twenty minutes per session. That may have been shorter than necessary but I have trouble getting myself to do things. Anyways, long story short, I did not manage to “find my mind” as I was supposed to. I have this unshakeable sensation of my mind being found behind the eyes, which is apparently not the intended result of the practice. Lama Lena advised me to try the exercise again in a completely dark room and see if that helps, which I will attempt later. Did anyone have anymore luck with this exercise and if so how?

some lamas advice of " short moments ..many times " so it doesn't turn into a conceptual activity

while others encourage sitting meditation resting as awareness ...what are your views ??

Well, I don’t see any join in sign so I don’t how to proceed, any idea ?

Edit: i wrote to the contact form but still no answer. Can you confirm zangthal is still active ?

If you're stressed out over the election like I am, maybe this will help. Lama Lena is going to do a livestream at 11am on election day. You can join in here https://www.youtube.com/live/FE8RKle0g8A?si=X1nvIQQQOfK7SQua It is to help bring "good and wise outcomes". It's not a partisan thing.

Moonlit White Tara ceremony for the US election (public)

Tuesday, November 5 Lama Lena will livestream two full Tara Sadhanas to help bring good and wise outcomes for the 2024 Presidential election.

Time:  11AM Pacific Daylight Time

For more information, refer to the 2020 teachings at https://lamalenateachings.com/tara-ceremony-2020-election/
NOTE:  In 2020,  this was split into two  sessions.  This will be one session.

Everyone is welcome! Please bring a dorje, bell, and bumpa if you have them.Moonlit White Tara ceremony for the US election (public)

"The Buddhas of the past previously saw and understood that one’s own mind must never be altered. The Buddhas of the present are likewise recognizing that the genuine mind must not be altered. The Buddhas who will come in the future to work the good of the sentient beings will teach not to alter this self-originated mind as such. Thus during meditation one should not try to alter the mind. Go and enter a path of non-alteration!"

(p143, The Sovereign All-Creating Mind, the Motherly Buddha)

Newly released. I suggest looking deep into his eyes when he pauses.

https://youtu.be/3vzjyzKOd0c?si=xU_Mc3tAjsfYt7G9

From Anam Thubten Rinpoche's facebook post:

Our minds have many self-constructed limitations—ideas of what is good, what is bad; what is sacred, what is not sacred. But if you can see a limitation in your mind, you can actually transcend it.

Sometimes our compassion is limited, isn’t it? Even a wholesome state like love can be very limited. We have love and compassion for people we know, people we are close to. But if we realize that we can't find the mind—that it has no ground and no root—then we can transcend these limitations. We are able to hold everyone in our hearts; we are able to see the divinity in everyone.

Recently, a friend told me that she asked her Buddhist teacher, “What do you see in us?” The teacher replied, “I see you all as stars.” [As in https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/universe-uncovered/hubble-star-clusters/ ]

That’s amazing, isn’t it? Imagine if we could see everyone as stars. Normally, we see them through the narrow lens of dualism. We see them through their personality; we see people we love, people we have aversion towards, and even some that we despise. Sometimes, we may even dehumanize them unconsciously. It's hard for us to see everyone as stars.

This is election season here in the United States, so it's a good time to try to see everyone as stars. That would be very nice! So this is my homework for all of you: please practice seeing everyone as stars.

Hello all,

I'm in a bit of an existential crisis in my life and am in need of assistance.

In my teens I began having panic attacks where I felt immensely trapped. The perception was of being trapped inside of reality itself, enmeshed within 3D reality. With these panic attacks came a realization - that I am not a separate entity outside of reality, but am rather *inside* of it. I'm inseparable from reality and reality is inseparable from me. I'm really not sure if the realization caused the terror, or the heightened state of the panic caused the realization. But for my entire life the thought "I'm inside reality" and terror have been linked. Thinking about this makes me feel overwhelmingly trapped and can start a panic attack.

For years I was able to avoid/ignore this truth. I'm in my early 30s now and lately I'm seeing this in everything. Every time I orient towards the visual field, I'm reminded of my relationship to it. Every object I look at, I notice that it is in relation to all of reality around it, and to me. Every time I think of anything in this reality, I'm reminded of the inseparability of everything in this reality from the rest, including myself. Everything seems to be brining me back to this realization - "I'm trapped inside of reality".

Over the years I've practiced many things: avoidance, acceptance, challenging the thought ("maybe it's not true?"), trying to see the emptiness of the thought, trying to see the emptiness of the self that thinks the thought and feels the fear. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be working. Best case scenario when this thought comes up I don't engage with the content and just go back to doing what I'm doing (i.e. ignore it). Worst case scenario this thought seems unavoidable and I have a perception of being trapped and experience terror. Because this issue appears unsolvable I'm trying to avoid thinking about it but at the same time my mind is obsessing over it and keeps digging at it. I'm losing sleep, am in a constant state of anxiety and on the verge of panic attacks. It feels like this existential fact that is simultaneously true, pervasive, inescapable and unacceptable.

I'd always thought this was simply derealization and symptoms of panic attacks/anxiety, and I am sure that those things are occurring right now. But at the same time, there is some truth in this way of thinking/perceiving. I *am* a part of reality. Because this issue edges towards insights into no-self and non-separateness, lately I've been thinking that perhaps this isn't simply an issue of generalized anxiety/panic, but is actually a spiritual/ontological issue? What do you think, does this sound like an insight? Perhaps an incomplete one?

Please, I welcome all advice on how to proceed. Does this sound like a spiritual insight? Or is this simply panic/anxiety/DPDR? I really feel stuck and at a dead end with this issue. I have for years tried to practice acceptance of both panic attacks and this thought, but I haven't been able to budge this apparent crisis. I don't know what to do. Can anyone relate to this?? Whenever I mention this type of thought to family, friends, even others who suffer from anxiety, nobody seems to know what I'm talking about. Because of that I feel quite alone in this.

I'm posting here because Dzogchen was the practice that I was engaging with over the past year. In this Lame Lena lecture, she says "Literally, nyam means meditative experience. And there are a few that are extremely unpleasant. Such as, you are having a panic attack every time you go into relaxation. That panic attack is a nyam". From a practice perspective, I have found that I'm able to rest into present awareness without experiencing this panic. It's when going about my day interacting with daily life that I'm obsessing about this idea of "being inside reality".

is daytime dream yoga different from holding the view ??

Hello everyone, do you know if in Europe there are Nyingma centers related to Dilgo Kyentse (I looked at Shechen site of Rabjam Rinpoche but i didn't find centers with resident Lamas). I did't find any center realated to Mindrolling Trichen Rinpoche, to Penor Rinpoche and to Dudjom Rinpoche. Do you know centers related to this great Masters of Nyingma?

this is something i only noticed post recognition that almost over 90% of daily thoughts are completely useless and bring nothing but suffering.. that is an insane fact and i wish every human being could recognize this.

(Dalai Lama, Dzogchen, p.47)

I watched and interview with Daniel p brown describing that after 7-8 years and releasing all karmic memory traces ..negative emotions disappear completely ...and 80-85 positive State arise in the mind

have you ever met someone like that ? is this really achievable in one lifetime ??

I've got lung after a wonderful retreat last week. Not sleeping well, a bit wired, and my chi feels all jangle-y. When I feel what's usually the nice warm smooth flow of chi it feels kind of... jagged? I tried doing some tai chi to smooth it out but I couldn't "root". If I remember right, the energy is rooted in the feet, developed by the legs, directed by the waist and manifested in the fingers. But it all feels kind of disconnected and static-y.

LL talked about lung during the retreat and the basics of caring for it. If I understood her correctly, they were to relax the intensity of practice, slack off a bit, skip the dream yoga so you sleep more deeply, eat heavy fatty food with meat (vegan makes it worse), and take meds. I'm doing all of that. And I'm trying to give up caffeine.

It's not too bad. I would gladly feel this way for a year to have been able to do that retreat, it was so good. But it would be nice if it faded out quicker. Anybody got any good ideas? Yes, I have an email in to the lama, but she gets buried under emails. By the time she can get to mine I'll probably feel all better. Anybody got any helpful suggestions in the meanwhile? Thanks!

Hello friends! The purpose of this post is to share something I have been reflecting on recently to see if other novices such as myself may have any thoughts on it, but more importantly to be corrected by the more experienced where I may be getting things wrong. 

On suffering: In my practice, and in my life in general, I am constantly reflecting on the truth of suffering, and the truth that it is optional. This has been incredibly helpful to me in becoming a more lighthearted, happier, kinder person. Since I began practicing, I have seen a steady, (mostly) one-directional change year on year as my existing relationships improve, I form new wonderfully meaningful relationships, find new ways to help others, enjoy more while being bothered less, and just generally have a hell of a lot of fun with great people. The Four Noble Truths are so simple to understand, yet when one really integrates them into their daily life, they have a profoundly positive impact on ourselves and others. 

Buddhism broadly: When it comes to the dharma, I also find that the Four Noble Truths are a useful lens to apply when people get into heated debates on various perceived philosophical differences, discussions on metaphysics, the more technical aspects of meditation, psychology, ethics or whatever else falls under the various forms of Buddhism. If we always come back to the Four Noble Truths, it helps us to identify “is this helpful or not?” If it leads to less suffering and/or more happiness, great. If the answer is uncertain, we can move on. It has long been my view that for a 2,600 year old tradition, with such a breadth and diversity in its various forms across the world, it is quite helpful that the different ‘Buddhisms’ have at their core this single, simple starting point they all fall back upon and can agree on as the basis for our practice and our lives, as well as to more accurately understand reality and who we really are. 

Dzogchen: Now Dzogchen is obviously a part of Buddhism. It stems from Mahayana and most teachers describe it as the culmination of the Vajrayana vehicle. The bodhicitta motivation is central to Dzogchen. However, I have been wondering whether Dzogchen really takes the Four Noble Truths as its starting point? 

To me, an argument could be made that the answer to this is both yes and no, or even that it does not really matter. One could argue Dzogchen does not need to start with the Four Noble Truths as it has - in a sense - found a more efficient path to them. Instead of starting with the cessation of suffering, Dzogchen begins (and ends) with the ultimate nature of mind/reality. Receiving direct introduction to the nature of mind from a qualified lineage holder is necessary before one even begins their practice. 

However, once we have had this direct experience of our pristine, awake awareness, and have developed a serious motivation to stabilise this in our moment to moment existence through sustained practice, dharmakaya inevitably and spontaneously shines through more and more in all our thoughts, speech and actions. This leads us to be more open and accepting, unperturbed by whatever so-called afflictive emotions or ‘negative’ events may occur, and crucially coincides with a natural upwelling of genuine care and compassion for others. 

So in this sense, it could be said that cessation of suffering is a natural byproduct of awakened mind, even if we were to not take cessation of suffering as the original goal itself. Phrased in the reverse, if realising the true nature of our minds and reality is taken as the starting point - and provided we have a qualified teacher and the appropriate motivation in our practice - we will inevitably achieve realisation of the Four Noble Truths and cessation of suffering along the way. 

So it is a kind of chicken and egg thing. Whether one starts with ending suffering or realising the nature of mind as the goal, an awakened mind ends up getting both at once anyway.