I received an email from a student that had a long list of questions regarding practice, life situations, Dzogchen theory and the like.

I suggested a method that I use in my retreats regularly; which was inspired by my satori or kensho that was experienced in China in 1978 while in a private Dharma interview at a monastery with my Chan or Zen master, Yen Wai Shi who taught only the "sudden" style of Zen transmission dating from the time of the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng. It was due to this satori that he passed on the lineage transmission to me and asked me to carry on this rare lineage "sudden" teaching.

Here is the gist of the "sudden" transmission in a simple, modern and practical instruction:

"Here is the best answer: isolate each one of your questions on a list.

Then take the first question and get that chain of thoughts clear in your mind.

Then with an imaginary hand reach up and reach down into your skull, grab the words of your question and pull them out of your head and throw them away into space. Notice for a moment that your head is now empty of thoughts.

That resolves the first question.

Then go to the next question and do exactly the same. Go through the whole list the same.

Notice how all of your questions were just distracting little stories arising from the egoic intellect demanding attention as it grasps for conceptual satisfaction and resolution.

Nirvana is simply the absence of any current thoughts being highlighted. Samsara is only your current thought. All thoughts are egoic babble and are to be ignored.

In the absence of all thoughts and daydreaming what remains is a vividly awake clarity. That vividly awake clarity has its own thought-free mode of navigating life. It does so by a continual arising of intuitive wisdoms that react according to the obviousness of the situation.

Your current life may change radically as your life relationships, commitments and activities may be based on egoic grasping and holding, and therefore will probably lose all meaning and value. That could create some chaos for others initially but your life will become guided by wisdom and authentic compassion as opposed to egoic grasping and desire; and that's a good thing!

If new thoughts like "yea, but what if..." arise, then take those thoughts through the steps above as before.

Outside of your thoughts saying otherwise, everything is just fine!"

Stop speculating and follow these instructions :

Primary Transmission of the Non-Gradual Path

If anyone really wants to experience directly what Dzogchen, Mahamudra and Zen are pointing to; I feel nothing more is necessary then what's posted below. I include two of my "pointing out" texts which include pith instructions from several Dzogchen masters and five key videos that should all together represent a complete teaching and transmission of the "non-gradual" path.

That being so, we don't really need to engage in a lot of detailed philosophical or academic questions and discussions "about" Dzogchen.

My purpose is to share a living experience that can transform confusion into insightful clarity, suffering into joy, and selfishness into compassion and unconditional love; rather than hosting groups for discussions "about" theory and related topics.

So, why don't we focus uniquely on the topics below until everyone has some real direct experience? Let's work through what obstacles seem to prevent this from being fully experienced for each of you.

Complete Instructions for Dzogchen Atiyoga

"Relax into basic space beyond beginning and end,” introduces the nature of mind. Once you recognize it, there is no need to wait for another time in the future. Basic space never began and does not end in any way whatsoever. Rigpa never began and does not end. It is totally endless, utterly beginningless."
Tulku Urgyen

"This wakefulness that is primordially pure is the empty quality of the nature of our mind. In the moment when we recognize our nature, we do not see any ‘thing’ whatsoever. It is already utterly pure and perfect. That is exactly what we call primordial purity. Inseparable from that is a quality of knowing: we are cognizant, at the same time. This is the spontaneous presence. These two aspects are indivisible."
Tulku Urgyen

Direct Introduction to Pure Awareness (rigpa in Tibetan):

Sit in a comfortable posture in a well lit and bright room or outdoor space.

Close your eyes.

Notice the color at your closed eyelids. It will usually seem like an orangey color with brownish or gray tinges. Whatever the color, just observe the color that seems to be in front of your awareness that's noticing the colors.

Now, instead of attention being on the colors at the eyelids; notice that which is the "observing" awareness that knows the colors are present. Bring attention from the object to the subject side that is doing the observing.

"There is an oral instruction about the way to look. It is said,
“It is as though your eyes were looking through the back of your head instead of looking forwards.” Mingyur Rinpoche

"It is as though your eyes are looking backwards instead of forwards as they usually do. You are looking out with your eyes but are looking back at the same time. Do not try too hard with this though, otherwise you will really make a big mistake. You just sort of look back ..." Mingyur Rinpoche

Notice the empty nature of your own awareness that is observing. There is an empty space of awareness that knows itself, but not as a thing with shape, form or substance.

"The way to do this is just to turn your attention slightly inward, not to look deeply inside, just to turn your focus from outward to inward in a very light way. The moment of recognizing this state is the blessings of the lineage." Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Being that empty, observing awareness; just notice again the colors at the eyelids. Do the colors alter or change your empty awareness or do they just appear in awareness like clouds appearing in a changeless sky? This analogy applies as well regarding all thoughts, images, sense of self, emotional energies, sensations and perceptions that also appear harmlessly in the empty space of changeless awareness.

Relax attention again and again from the colors or any inner phenomena, so that attention and the empty, observing awareness occupy the same exact space, inseparably so.

It's possible to notice the empty, transparent nature of your own observing awareness that deepens as one remains empty of attentiveness to any mental or perceptual content other than empty awareness itself.

"Without any in or any out - utter openness. How is it that ‘openness’? It’s empty, awake, luminous and simple..." Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Whatever occurs to the senses or mind, just leave everything as-is and relax in your native state of vivid and awake awareness. Your heightened awareness will guide your actions in life with great precision. There are no further instructions.

Here is an ancient quote from a fundamental Great Perfection Tantra, or scriptural text, called the “The Heaped Jewels.” It com­pletely summarizes the unique method of Dzogchen practice.

"When anyone rests in the natural state without concen­tration, understanding manifests in that individual’s mind, without someone having to teach all the words by which the mind understands these meanings. As this understanding dawns in the mind, all that is non-man­ifest and all sensory appearances, which in themselves entail no concepts, are seen to be naturally pure." (From
Longchenpa’s Precious Treasury, Padma Publications.)

Kalu Rinpoche:

"Mind is poised in the state of bare awareness, there is no directing the mind. One is not looking within for anything; one is not looking without for anything. One is simply letting the mind rest in its own natu­ral state. The empty, clear and unimpeded nature of mind can be experienced if we can rest in an uncon­trived state of bare awareness without distraction and without the spark of awareness being lost."

In daily life:

"It is easy to re-recognize it (rigpa). You just have to drop thinking and it is right there. There is not a lot to be done."
Mingyur Rinpoche

Seeing it Clearly is Being It

If you close your eyes, you can notice an inner space of awareness in which various mental events as thoughts and images appear and disappear. Notice this for a couple of minutes.

If you then rest in just this awareness of noticing the inner traffic within that space, the mental events will begin to slow down and one's mind will eventually become more still and clear. At this point shift attention from the diminishing mental events and just sense the empty, aware space in which all experience is appearing. That empty, aware space is the Mind of Clear Light; your changeless Buddha Mind that is always perfect.

It's the mental traffic and perceptions appearing in It as thoughts, that describes a self, a world and the narrative concerning that self; the story of "me". But the aware cognitive space that is hosting all those thought appearances is untouched by all and everything appearing in It.

So you see, your perfect Buddha Mind, the empty Mind of Clear Light, was never in need of any study, teachings, purification or practices. It never changes, only the visitors change that come and go.

This is what "instantaneous enlightenment" is pointing to. Don't "think" that more is needed; that would just be the next visiting thought talking.


http://youtu.be/i34IuGJUj30

http://youtu.be/ncrNEAAMgSs

http://youtu.be/3vQHpfzQfBE

http://youtu.be/zJ6nS-kkoyE

http://youtu.be/yxv2Yo_ISp4

"Samsara is not really there; it is just a mistake that we make, and nirvana is simply the correction of that mistake. We could also say that samsara is similar to dreaming and not knowing it is a dream—it is simply a misperception or mistaken understanding of the events that appear to be happening. Nirvana, in contrast, is like recognizing the dream for what it is."
Khenpo Tsulstrim Gyatso