From "About the Three Lines that Strike Key Points: An Explanation of Thorough Cut with Direct Crossing Woven In", by Dodrupchen III Tenpa'i Nyima, trans. Tony Duff, p. 22. Footnote by translator.

Of the three types of meditation, best, middling, and least, the best meditation is like throwing a stone at a lion. When a stone is thrown at a lion, the lion is not driven off but turns on the stone thrower with his retaliation, meaning that the stone will not be thrown again. Similarly, the best meditation does not follow after discursive thought when it suddenly erupts, but causes the agent behind the shining forth of the thought to remember himself so that he apprehends himself all of a sudden and then, whatever discursive thoughts arise, they are sent on into self-liberation. The meaning of what some say about this, "Look directly at the discursive thought", is that the discursive thought looks at itself. What some say, "Look in between the previous and next discursive thought at the mind clear and vivid", also has that same meaning. Those two do not matter; instead there is the meaning of, "Look directly at how it is", which is for rigpa to look at itself. This case of looking at rigpa and its not causing even the slightest production of self through a mindfulness which is on the mind's side is the single meaning of the key points of this context. The least meditation is like a stone thrown at a dog, with the stone causing the dog to leave the thrower and be driven off by the stone. Similarly the agent behind the shining forth of the discursive thought is left behind but it is not that the meditation goes off, driven away by the discursive thought, instead it looks at the agent of the shining forth, himself.^(1)

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^(1)When discursive thought shines forth, the meditation forgets about the agent that causes it like the dog leaves the stone-thrower behind. Unlike in the example, the meditation does not head away in the direction of the discursive thought like the dog heads off in the direction of the thrown stone, instead, it sits there looking right at the thrower of the stone.

The saying, "See discursive thoughts as dharmakaya, do not reject them!" is very famous but, for as long as the energy of vipashyana has not been perfected, if you put yourself into blank**^(1)** shamatha just believing it to be a state which "is the dharmakaya all right", then you are probably putting yourself into a kind of equanimity in which there is none of the knowing that knows, "What is this? It is this", an equanimity whose style is indeterminate**^(2)**.

Therefore, from the first, look directly at whatever discursive thought shines forth then, not investigating it or researching it at all, rest right on the recognizer of the discursive thought itself, and, in the same manner as an old man watches children playing games, set yourself on that while not seeing them as important, not evaluating them, not developing ideas about them in any way.

If you set yourself on it like that, then, whenever the concept-less abiding in which mind has been left to settle into being itself starts to move out, at the same time the occurrence that has suddenly started up also falls apart and in that moment wisdom beyond mind**^(3)** shines forth nakedly and totally obvious.

^(1) Tib. had po. "Blank" means a blank slate. It is usually pejorative and is so here. It means a stupid state of meditation in which you have gone into a nice cocoon. To do that, you have to drop the knowing aspect of mind and you become stupid in doing so.

^(2) Tib. lung ma bstan. "Indeterminate" means that this state of mind is neither definitely virtuous nor definitely non-virtuous, it could be either, depending on what you do with it.

^(3) "Mind" means samsaric mind.

-- from The Dzogchen Alchemy of Accomplishment: Heart Guidance on the Practice Expressed in an Easty-To-Understand Way, by Dudjom Jigdrel Yshe Dorje, translated by Tony Duff.

Original footnote numbering reset here for purposes of this excerpt, and paragraph breaks inserted for improved readability.

A garment that was purged by fire
May be soiled by various stains.
When it is put into a blaze again,
The stains are burned, the garment not.

Likewise, mind that is so luminous
Is soiled by stains of craving and so forth.
The afflictions burn in wisdom’s fire,
But its luminosity does not.

The sutras that teach emptiness,
However many spoken by the Victors,
They all remove afflictions,
But never undermine this Dhatu.

...

The forms of the sun, the moon and the stars
Are seen as reflections upon water
Within a container that is pure—
Just so, the characteristics are complete.

Virtuous throughout beginning, middle, end,
Undeceiving and so steady,
What’s like that is just the lack of self—
So how can you conceive it as ‘I’ and ‘mine’?

About water at the time of spring,
What we say is that it is ‘warm’.
Of the very same (thing), when it is chilly,
We just say that it is ‘cold’.

Covered by the web of the afflictions,
It is called a ‘sentient being’.
Once it is free from the afflictions,
It is referred to as ‘Buddha’.

...

Due to realisation and its lack,
All is in this very body.
Through our own conceptions, we are bound,
But when knowing our nature, we are free.

Enlightenment is neither far nor near,
And neither does it come nor go.
Whether it is seen or not, it is
Right in the midst of our afflictions.

By dwelling in the lamp of wisdom,
It turns into peace supreme.
So, the collection of the sutras says:
“By exploring your self, you should rest!”

...

It is held that those in nirvana with remainder
Into nirvana without remainder pass.
But here, the actual nirvana
Is mind that is free from any stain.

The non-being of all beings—
This nature is its sphere.
The mighty bodhicitta seeing it
Is fully stainless Dharmakaya.

In the stainless Dharmakaya,
The sea of wisdom finds its place.
Like with variegated jewels,
Beings’ welfare is fulfilled from it.

E MA HO

Outwardly, from the supreme abode of the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain,
The sole refuge is Guru Padmasambhava.
I supplicate intensely with unbearably powerful yearning:
Avert outer obstacles, the disturbances of the four elements,
And grant your blessings that I may be liberated into a body of light.

Inwardly, from the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain in the heart’s center,
The self-radiance of the five lights is Guru Padmasambhava.
I supplicate from within the full measure of intrinsic awareness:
Clear away inner obstacles, the suffering of the mind,
And grant your blessings that confused thoughts may be liberated into the Dharmakaya.

From the secret Copper-Colored Mountain of primordial purity,
Unceasing spontaneous accomplishment is Guru Padmasambhava,
I supplicate with timeless freedom from transition and change:
Liberate secret obstacles, the mind and mental factors,
And grant your blessings that I may realize the vision of the falling away of phenomena.

OM JÑĀNA GURU VAJRA SIDDHI HŪM

what is omniscience?

it is enlightened intent

Enlightened intent is the default state of phenomena.

omniscience is always there - one just sort of has to get out of the way.

The full understanding of the non-thing-ness of things is disappearance into the sky of Buddha

Who can recognise such a person?

Tilopa looked like a homeless beggar

But that was his Buddha activity

Whatever one's life is doing they become aligned with enlightened intent

This is the practice

Buddhahood is not somewhere else

May all beings cultivate the supreme mind of bodhicitta 🌹🙏 🌹

I found a detailed article by David Paul Boaz explaining the union of Dzogchen and Zen Buddhism.

https://selfdefinition.org/zen/Zen-and-Dzogchen--12-page-article.pdf

From this text:

​

In the non-gradualist (tongo, sudden) path of Dzogchen and of the mujodo no taigen of nondual Saijojo Zen, our intrinsic Buddha Nature (tathagatagarbha) is already inherently present in each individual, so there is nothing to seek. The presence (rigpa, vidya) of our luminous primordial, original Buddha nature—Buddha Mind—is “always, already present”. "Wonder of wonders, All beings are Buddhas." The dualism of conditional existence and of the exoteric gradualist path must be "cut through" (trekchö, kensho) directly via the fiery concentrative force (tapas) of spiritual practice or sadhana aided by direct transmission from the master (the Lama or the Roshi). "Introduce the state of presence (rigpa) of mind nature directly" (Garab Dorje). "If the view is dualistic, there can be no enlightenment" (Hui-neng). Of course, the necessary ngöndro or foundational practices of Dzogchen and Shojo Zen are “gradualist,” preparing the student for the liberating, sudden flashing realization of Absolute Truth, the always immediate presence of rigpa that is satori. The tongo, sudden approach, as with zengo, the gradualist approach, is a continuity of many sudden satori experiences opening into the vast emptiness ground as we tread the ascending lifestage levels of realization, potentially all the way to Buddhahood (Appendix A).

As we have seen, generally the view of the path of exoteric sutra is based on renunciation and purification, the esoteric tantric path in transformation, and the radical Maha Ati of the Dzogchen View is that the self-perfected state is the primordial presence of Buddha mind is already present in each being. Buddha mind arises from the Buddha body of ultimate reality (dharmakaya, chos-ku) personified as Samantabhadra, the Primordial Adi Buddha whose ultimate realization is the Buddhahood of the individual. This concept-free innate “pristine cognition” (dharmadhatujnana, chos-ying) of the vast expanse of Ultimate Reality Itself (dharmata) is the emptiness (shunyata) base (gzhi) that is the actual nature of all arising relative phenomenal reality. These two realities are the Two Truths (satyadvaya, denpa-nyis), Relative and Absolute. The illusory or apparitional aspect of this primordial Absolute Reality is the dependent arising of form as Maya or dharmin (Dudjom Rinpoche, 3 1991). Again, Buddha mind is inherently present in all beings “from the very beginning,” or before. And it cannot be grasped or realized by discursive concept mind.

So the sutra and tantra views of Buddha Nature are antidotal, that is, we apply cognitive and behavioral antidotes to the negative emotional afflictions or kleshas (ignorance, desire/attachment, anger/aggression/hatred) as they arise. Just so, Buddha Nature itself is the supreme antidote to such ignorance (avidya or marigpa). Again, the Ati Yoga view of Dzogchen is that the state of presence of our Buddha Nature is already present, awake, awaiting recognition, realization, then actualization through compassionate conduct in the lifeworld. Thus there is no need of an antidote. Perhaps, we are not yet Buddhas, but we are all already Buddha. “From the beinning, all beings are Buddha” (Hui-neng). Alas, this true nature of ours is veiled or cloaked by ignorance (avidya/maya). This “state of presence” that is Buddha mind or Buddha gnosis (innate gnosis, sahajajnana) is transmitted directly, from master to prepared student, then practiced by the student. Again, Buddha Nature is the essential Nature of Mind, the very essence of the primordial ground or base or source (kun-gzhi). According to the Prasangika Madhyamikas, this vast emptiness base is not just a negative void, a “non-affirming emptiness,” but a luminous clarity, a brightness that is an affirming emptiness, and it pervades all phenomena including all us sentient beings. We are luminous beings of light!

As this state of presence is originally and perfectly pure (kadag), from the very beginning, obstructing thoughts, desires and karmic actions need not be denied, renounced or transformed, but merely allowed to selfliberate (rang grol, zenkan, kensho, satori)—at the very instant of their arising—into their “primordially pure” source condition, the already present nondual awareness ground that is always our actual original identity, our Zen mind-Buddha mind. Therefore, all of the “slings and arrows” of our outrageous relative conventional existence are openings—an aperture—into the blissful primordial ground of being. The knowing (prajna), and feeling (bhakti) realization of this is the vast expanse of our Primordial Awareness Wisdom (jnana, yeshe, gnosis), always already present here and now. Thus it is told by the radical nondual wisdom teaching of Zen and Dzogchen

What do you think of this? Do you think that David Paul Boaz is right?

May all beings realise supreme enlightenment

Om mani padme hum

🌹🙏 🌹

Appearance in itself does neither good nor harm,

But clinging to appearance binds you to existence.

Thus there is no need to search for through manifold appearances.

Just cut to the root of mind that clings to them.

The mind does seem to be and yet lacks real existence.

When searched for, it's not found.

When looked for, it's not seen.

No color does it have, no shape; it cannot be identified.

Not outside or within; throughout the triple time,

It is not born, it does not cease.

And it is not located anywhere on this side or that.

Groundless, rootless, it is not a thing.

There is no pointing to it: mind is inconceivable.

The past mind cannot be observed;

The mind yet to be born is nowhere to be found;

The presend mind does not remain:

In all the times, the mind is just the same.

Do not let the mind search for the mind. Just let it be.

​

-Longchen Rabjam

from Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind, Volume 1

I had the thought that perhaps the act of practicing atiyoga is a bit like the act of disappearing.

IF we look at how Buddha mind is explained... we hear words like emptiness, clarity, sky-like vast expanse of primordial wisdom bliss. This is the nature of the Dharmakaya.

But if we try to find it in phenomena, it's not there when we look for it. You can look everywhere for the Dharmakaya and not find it because it's not a thing. It isn't "in thingness."

It's in subtlety. The dimension of subtlety is written in the non-thing-ness of things. The capacity to perceive the surface of the non-thing-ness- of things is an innate quality of the mind because the mind itself is not a thing. There is only the magical displays of that mind, or reflections like moon in a water. There is no mind. Therefore the non-thing-ness of things is their true nature.

This is the nature of the Dharmakaya.

Milarepa once mentioned something to the effect of ultimate reality being written in dakini scripts in all phenomena that he was reading at all times.

The perception of this subtlety requires the realisation of the nature of the mind.

The realisation of the nature of the mind .. well how do you do that.

For a practicing Bodhisattva, they have the "two accumulations." if I remember correctly it's merit and wisdom. One may use many skillful means to accomplish this.

The realisation of the nature of the mind has, as its prerequisite, Bodhicitta.

One reason for this is that the cultivation of bodhicitta facilitates completing the two accumulations.

The other reason for this is that Bodhicitta operates almost like a sense perception the mind. To see the subtlety where the non-thing-ness- of things is explained in the dakini scripts which are written on the borders between objects and non objects... we must experience a sort of mental space of visionary experiencer. It's not something understood conceptually. I once heard a practitioner call it something ilike, "creative imagination."

Thus the cultivation of bodhicitta facilitates the realisation of the nature of mind because one it can activate this subltety of perception, almost like a field of deep awareness in the body, and two because it can generate bliss.

Deep love and compassion actually allow a terrain of subtlety to emerge in the mind. This is Guru Yoga, this is Deity Yoga, this is Tonglen, it is an aspect of Atiyoga. In this terrain of subtlety, the "sunlight" of love, as it is metaphorically explained at times, is "shined" onto phenomena, such that we can see their emptiness. We can "read the dakini script," this expression from milarepa is very clever and has multiple layers of meaning.

In this way shamatha and vipassana are united. Bodhicitta opens a vastness in the space of the heart that also makes visible the vastness of an enlightened guru such as Garchen Rinpoche. In this vastness of heart we may receive the blessings of the three jewels.

Then, when we contemplate phenomena in the sunlight, we search the for the borders between thing and not thing, self and other, dream and not-dream, death and not-death, we find there is none. There are no borders between anythings. And inside every phenomenon there is the clear, lucid, empty illumination of the skylike primordial vast expanse of wisdom bliss.

This is an act of disappearing. When we look closely enough at the mind to read the dakini script, and experience the "dissolution of the ice block into the ocean," what we get is Dharmakaya, the true nature of all phenomena.

And the Dharmakaya is so elusive to define because it's not a thing. It isn't in language - it is space and, all of the appearances that appear in space.

This is also where you have an overlap between Atiyoga and non-Buddhist religions. If you had a Bodhisattva with sufficient merit and bodhicitta born in another religious background, and they became a mystic, they could realise the Dharmakaya from the primordial guru. After all, wasn't Tilopa's root teacher Vajradhara?. And mystics who had achieved this, I think, often could not explain it. They had to use poetic and metaphorical language that defied ordinary understanding.

I have read of one Christian mystic who explained,

"Thingness is the heart's greatest sorrow."

This is Dzogchen.

Experientially, though, returning to the title of this post, this understanding of the mind, is like an act of disappearing. In the mind's true nature, things are without thingness including ourselves. Thinglessness is liberating freedom because it resolves all tensions in the mind. Tensions are concepts - the dissolution of concept through the clarity of bodhicitta and the guidance of the Guru has the power to "make the inner and outer skies equal."

May all beings spontaneously realise primordial wisdom and achieve perfectly omniscient Buddhahood.

Om ah hung benza guru pema siddhi hung

Om Ah Hung Maha Guru Jhana Siddhi Hung

🌹🙏 🌹

phat

Where to find Dzogchen teachings online?

The following is quoted from /u/awakeningoffaith in this comment:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dzogchen/comments/nk50ou/comment/gzbc25x/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Lama Lena has tons of teachings online, and does pointng out instructions regularly, you can find this on the teaching schedule on her website.

James Low also has tons of teachings online.

B. Alan Wallace has a website with years of teachings online.

Padmasambhava center does online teachings regularly and their youtube page has years of teachings.

ewam.org organises many online teachings regularly

https://www.bodhicittasangha.org/teaching-schedule/ https://www.bodhicittasangha.org/vajrayana-teachings/

https://www.mangalashribhuti.org/

https://dzogchen.org/retreats/master-class-with-lama-surya-das/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-V70CBmg24g9LNgNA9xT5g

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbxG3ncP97ZOQJRaC1MmBoA

https://www.olmoling.org/contents/programs_and_retreats

https://www.kunsanggarcenter.org/

https://www.thebccp.com/original-all-events

http://www.shenten.org/en/

https://dharma-college.com/weekly-classes/

https://gyalshen.org/

https://youngedrodulling.org

https://ligmincha.org/

http://keithdowman.net/list-of-events.html

https://www.pemakilaya.org/teaching-schedule-2021/

https://palyul.org/wp/virtual-teachings-practice/

https://pristinemind.org

https://dpr.info/category/schedule/

https://www.facebook.com/Khenzurnyimawangyal

https://www.dawnmountain.org/dzogchen-cycles/

https://www.thebuddhapath.org/events/categories/internetprograms/

Also look into Malcolm Smith, he does great teachings.

Olmoling is great, every couple of months they do a large teaching on a whole cycle of dzogchen, and the teacher is very accesible on facebook.

Dharma College has great classes exploring the mind and slowly introducing the larger image.