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97-415: "Ju" ("holding") was Mipham's family name as his paternal clan is said to have originated as clear light deities who came to the human world holding a rope. "Jamgön" (Skt. Mañjunātha) indicate that he was considered to be an emanation of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. His maternal uncle, Minister-Lama Drupchok Pema Tarjay, named him Mipham Gyamtso ("Invincible Ocean" or "Unconquerable Ocean"). In Tibetan literature,

194-599: A guru or lama who introduces one to our own primordial state and provides instruction on how to practice. This "direct introduction" and transmission from a Dzogchen master is considered absolutely essential. The Dzogchen tradition contains numerous systems of practices, including various forms of meditation, tantric yogas and unique Dzogchen methods. The earliest form of Dzogchen practice (the Semde , "Mind" series) generally emphasized non-symbolic "formless" practices (as opposed to tantric deity yoga ). Later developments led to

291-493: A "technique free immersion in the bare immediacy of one's own deepest levels of awareness". Similarly, Christopher Hatchell explains that since for early Dzogchen "all beings and all appearances are themselves the singular enlightened gnosis of the buddha All Good (Samantabhadra, Kuntu Zangpo )", there is nothing to do but to recognize this inherent awakened mind, relax and let go. During the Tibetan renaissance era (10th century to

388-411: A couple of years hence, war and darkness shall cover the earth, which will have its effect even on this isolated snow land of Tibet . In thirty years time, a mad (smyo) storm of hatred will grow like a fierce black thundercloud in the land of China, and in a further decade this evil shall spill over into Tibet itself, so that Lamas, scholars, disciples and yogis will come under terrible persecution. Due to

485-691: A direct path to realizing the innate wisdom and compassion of the mind. Dzogchen arose in the era of the first dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet (7th to 9th centuries CE) during the Tibetan Empire and continued during the Era of Fragmentation (9th to 11th centuries). American Tibetologist David Germano argues that Dzogchen is likely a Tibetan Buddhist development. However, numerous ideas key to Dzogchen (like emptiness and luminosity ) can be found in Indian sources, like

582-590: A direct understanding of the pure nature of the mind. Practice involves meditation techniques and specific Dzogchen methods. Conduct means integrating these practices into daily life. The Fruit represents the ultimate goal – realizing one's true nature and achieving Buddhahood. This involves discovering the inherent state of the base and integrating all experiences with one's awareness of it. Ultimately, it leads to complete non-dual awareness, transcending egoic limitations, and dissolving dualities. A key concept in Dzogchen

679-485: A distinction from Longchenpa between two types of effects: [1] produced effects, such as when a sprout is produced by a seed; and [2] freed effects, such as when the sun appears after the clouds have vanished. For Mipham, the buddha qualities are freed effects in that they are simply made manifest when the conditions that obscure them have been removed. They are not produced anew. As scholar Robert Mayer remarks, Mipham "completely revolutionised rNying ma pa scholasticism in

776-408: A focus on death-motifs and practices (such as funerary and relic rituals, bardo teachings, phowa , etc). These new methods and teachings were part of several new traditions such as the "Secret Cycle" ( gsang skor ), "Ultra Pith" ( yang tig ), "Brahmin's tradition" ( bram ze'i lugs ), the " Space Class Series," and especially the "Instruction Class series" ( Menngagde ), which culminated in

873-399: A major Dzogchen tantra , explains the term Dzog (Perfection) as follows: Because rigpa is perfect wisdom in the realm beyond effort, it is perfection. Because meditation is perfect stainless wisdom in the realm beyond concepts, it is perfection. Because behavior is perfect universal wisdom in the realm beyond correction, it is perfection. Because view is perfect non-conceptual wisdom in

970-598: A phase after the completion of the Bodhisattvabhumi , but before the composition of Asanga's Mahāyānasaṃgraha (which quotes the Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra as an authoritative text). The Buddhist traditions themselves have always held that Asaṅga received the "Maitreya" texts from the bodhisattva Maitreya directly. Asaṅga is said to have spent many years in intense meditation, during which time tradition says that he often visited Tuṣita to receive teachings from

1067-608: A place of esteem similar to the works of Sakya Pandita and Gorampa in the Sakya tradition ; those of Tsongkhapa in the Gelug tradition and of Kunkhyen Padma Karpo in the Drukpa Kagyu . Together with Rongzompa and Longchenpa , Mipham is considered to be one of the three "omniscient" writers of the Nyingma tradition. Although Mipham wrote on a wide range of subjects, David Germano identifies

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1164-436: A previous incarnation. This Mipham incarnate is the father of Thaye Dorje , one of two candidates to be recognized as the 17th Karmapa , and of 14th Sonam Tsemo Rinpoche, an important Gelug/Sakya tulku. In 1995, Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo (b. 1962), the eldest son of renowned dharma master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Ani Könchok Palden, was recognized as a reincarnation of Mipham Rinpoche by HH Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche , at

1261-403: A quiver and so on, compelling a non-human "bird" to whisper future news in one's ear, and so on. In one short text he prescribes various methods of divination (all drawn, Mipham emphasizes, from Tantric scriptures and commentaries) that make use of unusual sources of augury such as: the vicariously overheard chatter of women; sudden appearance of various animals, especially birds; weather phenomena;

1358-639: A separate vehicle to liberation in the Nyingma tradition, the term was used synonymously with the Sanskrit term ati yoga (primordial yoga). Rigpa (Sanskrit: vidyā , "knowledge") is a central concept in Dzogchen. According to Ācārya Malcolm Smith: A text from the Heart Essence of Vimalamitra called the Lamp Summarizing Vidyā ( Rig pa bsdus pa’i sgronma ) defines vidyā in the following way: "...vidyā

1455-433: A technical term employed within the Dzogchen lineages for a particular lineage of empowerment propagated by Jigme Lingpa . This empowerment consists of the direct introduction of the student to the intrinsic nature of their own mind-essence, rigpa , by their empowering master. In Dzogchen tradition, pointing-out instruction ( Tibetan : ངོ་སྤྲོད་ཀྱི་གདམས་པ་ , Wylie : ngo sprod kyi gdams pa , THL : ngo-trö kyi dam-pa )

1552-572: Is Hanshan Deqing during the Ming dynasty . In his autobiography, Hanshan describes the palace of Maitreya in Tuṣita, and hearing a lecture given by Bodhisattva Maitreya to a large group of his disciples. The number of works attributed to him vary in the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism . In the Tibetan tradition the "five Dharmas of Maitreya" are: The Chinese tradition meanwhile maintains that

1649-570: Is a name whose use was pioneered by Buddhist scholars Erich Frauwallner , Giuseppe Tucci , and Hakuju Ui to distinguish one of the three founders of the Yogācāra school of Buddhist philosophy , along with Asanga and Vasubandhu . Some scholars believe this Maitreya to be a historical person in India who authored various Yogācāra texts known as the Maitreya corpus. The traditions themselves have held that it

1746-612: Is also referred to as "pointing out the nature of mind" ( Tibetan : སེམས་ཀྱི་ངོ་སྤྲོད་ , Wylie : sems kyi ngo sprod , THL : sem kyi ngo-trö ), "pointing out transmission", or "introduction to the nature of mind". The pointing-out instruction ( ngo sprod ) is an introduction to the nature of mind . There are three major divisions of the Dzogchen path, known as the "Three Dharmas of the Path." These are tawa , gompa , and chöpa . Namkhai Norbu translates these three terms as 'view,' 'practice,' and 'conduct.' Garab Dorje (c. 665) epitomized

1843-446: Is devoted to Ju-thig or divination using knots, a method that might be termed " Bon " in origin, for want of a more accurate term; this may have been the legacy of his family, who were doctors for several generations. Throughout his writings there are many resources for divination, in addition to astrology, including several rituals for looking in mirrors (pra-mo), one using dice (mo), pulling different-length 'arrows' (Wylie: da dar) out of

1940-444: Is due to the polymathic nature of his learning and his exceptional ingenuity that Mipham today ranks amongst the leading religious and spiritual celebrities of Tibet. Mipham's works on both the exoteric or Sutrayana teachings and the esoteric or Vajrayāna teachings have become core texts within the Nyingma tradition. These works now hold a central position in the curriculum of all Nyingma monasteries and monastic colleges — occupying

2037-695: Is entitled The Essence of Clear Light or Nucleus of Inner Radiance ( Wylie : od gsal snying po )— it is based on Longchenpa's commentary, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions Wylie : gsang snying 'grel pa phyogs bcu mun sel which explains the Guhyagarbha from the Dzogchen point of view. Mipham showed particular interest in the Kalachakra and the kingdom of Shambhala , and one of his last and most extensive of his esoteric works are his two volumes of commentary, initiation and sadhana related to

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2134-494: Is explaining how ignorance arises from the basis or dharmatā , which is associated with ye shes or pristine consciousness. Automatically arising unawareness ( lhan skyes ma rig pa ) exists because the basis has a natural cognitive potentiality which gives rise to appearances. This is the ground for saṁsāra and nirvāṇa . The Mirror of the Heart of Vajrasattva ( Dorje Sempa Nyinggi Melong , rdo rje sems dpa' snying gi me long ),

2231-445: Is knowing, clear, and unchanging" In Sanskrit, the term vidyā and all its cognates imply consciousness, knowing, knowledge, science, intelligence, and so on. Simply put, vidyā means unconfused knowledge of the basis that is its own state. Ma rigpa ( avidyā ) is the opposite of rigpa or knowledge. Ma rigpa is ignorance, delusion, or unawareness, the failure to recognize the nature of the basis. An important theme in Dzogchen texts

2328-481: Is referring to the bodhisattva Maitreya , the future buddha . Scholars are divided in opinion whether the name refers to a historical human teacher of Asaṅga or to the bodhisattva Maitreya. Frauwallner, Tucci and Ui proposed this as a possibility, while Eric Obermiller and Fyodor Shcherbatskoy doubted the historicity of this figure. Modern scholars argue that many of the various texts traditionally attributed to Maitreya (and supposedly revealed to Asanga ) like

2425-482: Is termed rigpa , while the relative truth is the conceptual mind ( sems ). According to Mipham these two models do not conflict. They are merely different contextually; the first relates to the analysis of experience post meditatively and the second corresponds to the experience of unity in meditative equipose. This synthesis by Mipam is ultimately a bringing together of two different perspectives in Tibetan philosophy, rangtong and shentong , which Mipam associated with

2522-564: Is the "base", "ground", or "primordial state" (Tibetan: gzhi , Sanskrit: āśraya ), also called the general ground ( spyi gzhi ) or the original ground ( gdod ma'i gzhi ). The basis is the original state "before realization produced buddha s and nonrealization produced sentient beings". It is atemporal and unchanging and yet it is "noetically potent", giving rise to mind ( sems, Skt. citta ), consciousness ( shes pa, Skt. vijñāna ), delusion ( ma rig pa, Skt. avidyā ) and knowledge ( rigpa , Skt. vidyā ). Furthermore, Hatchell notes that

2619-416: Is the end of space. Space is infinite in all directions; so is dharmakaya. Dharmakaya is all-pervasive and totally infinite, beyond any confines or limitations. This is so for the dharmakaya of all buddhas. There is no individual dharmakaya for each buddha, as there is no individual space for each country. The Dzogchen View of the secret instruction series ( man ngag sde ) is classically explained through

2716-460: Is the focus of the teachings of Dzogchen . He attempts a synthesis of them to show that they are not incompatible perspectives and that the teachings of Dzogchen are in line with reason. Mipham developed a twofold model of the Buddhist two truths doctrine . The first model is the traditional Madhyamaka perspective which presents the two truths of emptiness and appearance, with emptiness representing

2813-461: Is the unity of seemingly disparate ideas such as duality and nonduality , conceptual and nonconceptual ( nirvikalpa ) wisdom, rational analysis and uncontrived meditation, presence and absence, immanence and transcendence, emptiness and Buddha nature . Mimicking the Sarma schools, Mipham attempted to reconcile the view of tantra, especially Dzogchen , with sutric Madhyamaka . This was in departure with

2910-718: The Abhisamayalankara and the Ratnagotravibhaga are actually later post-Asanga texts. However, some scholars like Gareth Sparham use the name Maitreya to refer to the author of "three Maitreya texts", all which seem to be by the same author. This Maitreya Corpus comprises the following texts: Paul Williams writes that "it is quite possible that these other three [texts] do have a single author" and cites Frauwallner who also thought these three texts were similar. Mario D'amato who also agrees that these texts likely share one author, dates these three "Maitreya" texts to

3007-615: The Kalachakra Tantra , the esoteric teaching from Shambhala . Before he died in 1912, he said to his students that now he was going to Shambhala . Throughout his life, Mipham showed a particular interest in the legend of the warrior king Gesar of Ling , a 12th-century figure whose epic is well-known and widely celebrated in eastern Tibet, and about whom Mipham wrote extensively. The Gesar practice, known as "The Swift Accomplishment of Enlightened Activity Through Invocation and Offering" ( Wylie : gsol mchod phrin las myur 'grub ) arose in

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3104-680: The Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra , the Mahāyāna-sūtra-alaṃkāra-śāstra , the Madhyānta-vibhāga-śāstra , etc.; in the daytime, he lectured on the marvelous principles to a great audience. Confusion over the idea of "supernaturally" visiting heavens may be due to the unfamiliarity of scholars with the Indian concept of heavens as being accessible through samādhi . Other advanced meditators recorded similar experiences of visiting Tuṣita Heaven at night. One such example of this

3201-540: The bar-do thos-grol ), Rigdzin Gödem (1337–1409), Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798), who revealed the influential Longchen Nyingthig and Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904). Dzogchen is composed of two terms: According to the fourteenth Dalai Lama , the term dzogchen may be a rendering of the Sanskrit term mahāsandhi . The term initially referred to the "highest perfection" of Vajrayāna deity yoga . Specifically, it refers to

3298-492: The bardo (intermediate state between death and rebirth ). In trekchö, one first identifies the innate pure awareness, and then sustains recognition of it in all activities. In tögal ("crossing over"), a yogi works with various gazes and postures which lead to various forms of visions (in dark retreat or through sky gazing ). The most comprehensive study of sky-gazing meditation, known as tögal or thod rgal , has been written by Flavio A. Geisshuesler. Although

3395-524: The Buddhist tantras , buddha-nature literature and other Mahāyāna sources like the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra . Furthermore, scholars like Sam van Schaik see Dzogchen as having arisen out of tantric Buddhist completion stage practices. The earliest Dzogchen sources appeared in the first half of the 9th century, with a series of short texts attributed to Indian saints. The most of important of these are

3492-716: The Quintessence of all Courses of Ultimate Wisdom (Jnanasarasamuccaya) of Aryadeva ; commentaries on the major works of the Indian Buddhist logicians Dharmakirti and Dignaga ; commentaries on the Five Treatises of Maitreya most notably, the Abhisamayalamkara ; commentaries on several works of Vasubandhu including the Abhidharmakosha . Mipham's commentary on the ninth chapter of Shantideva 's Bodhicaryavatara ,

3589-584: The Shertik Norbu Ketaka ( Tibetan : ཤེར་ཊཱིཀ་ནོར་བུ་ཀེ་ཏ་ཀ་ , Wylie : sher ṭīk nor bu ke ta ka ), "threw Tibetan scholarly circles into several decades of heated controversy," but "it was not the only tempest Mipham's new expositions raised." His commentary on the Madhyamakalamkara of Śāntarakṣita was also considered highly controversial. Mipham's commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra

3686-560: The eleven vajra topics . These can be found in the String of Pearls Tantra ( Mu tig phreng ba ), the Great Commentary by Vimalamitra as well as in Longchenpa 's Treasury of Word and Meaning ( Tsik Dön Dzö). Dzogchen practice ( gompa ) relies on the Dzogchen view which is a "direct, non-dual, non-conceptual knowledge" of the pure nature. This is achieved through one's relationship with

3783-557: The "Eighteen Great Scriptures", which are today known as the "Mind Series" ( Semdé ) and are attributed to Indian masters like Śrī Siṅgha , Vairotsana and Vimalamitra . The later Semdé compilation tantra titled the All-Creating King ( Kunjed Gyalpo , kun byed rgyal po) is one of the most important and widely quoted of all Dzogchen scriptures. Germano sees the early Dzogchen of the Tibetan Empire period as characterized by

3880-416: The "Seminal Heart" ( snying thig ), which emerged in the late 11th and early 12th century. The most influential texts in this period are Seventeen Tantras ( rgyud bcu bdun ). The most important scholarly figure in the systematization of these new traditions was Longchenpa Rabjampa (1308–1364). Later figures who also revealed important treasure text cycles include Karma Lingpa , (1326–1386, who revealed

3977-411: The "expanse" or "space" ( klong or dbyings ) or the "expanse of Dharma" ( chos dbyings , Sanskrit: Dharmadhatu ). The term Dharmakaya (Dharma body) is also often associated with these terms in Dzogchen, as explained by Tulku Urgyen : Dharmakaya is like space. You cannot say there is any limit to space in any direction. No matter how far you go, you never reach a point where space stops and that

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4074-421: The (essentialist) categories of substance and quality; [...] rang-bzhin (actuality) remains open-dimensional, rather than being or turning into a rigid essence despite its being what it is; and that thugs-rje (resonance) is an atemporal sensitivity and response, rather than a distinct and narrowly circumscribed operation. The 19th–20th-century Tibetan Buddhist scholar, Shechen Gyaltsap Gyurme Pema Namgyal, sees

4171-609: The 9th century, attributed to Indian masters. These texts, known as the Eighteen Great Scriptures, form the "Mind Series" and are attributed to figures like Śrī Siṅgha and Vimalamitra . Early Dzogchen was marked by a departure from normative Vajrayāna practices, focusing instead on simple calming contemplations leading to a direct immersion in awareness. During the Tibetan renaissance era (10th to early 12th century), Dzogchen underwent significant development, incorporating new practices and teachings from India. This period saw

4268-553: The Base, the Path, and the Fruit. The Base represents the original state of existence, characterized by emptiness ( stong pa nyid ), clarity ( lhun grub , associated with luminous clarity ), and compassionate energy ( snying rje ). The Path involves gaining a direct understanding of the mind's pure nature through meditation and specific Dzogchen methods. The Fruit is the realization of one's true nature, leading to complete non-dual awareness and

4365-489: The Buddha-nature as ultimate truth, nirvana, which is constituted of profundity, primordial peace and radiance: Buddha-nature is immaculate. It is profound, serene, unfabricated suchness, an uncompounded expanse of luminosity; nonarising, unceasing, primordial peace, spontaneously present nirvana. Direct introduction is called the "Empowerment of Awareness" ( Wylie : rig pa'i rtsal dbang , pronounced "rigpay sall wahng"),

4462-698: The Debates on Emptiness ) Lopon Karma Phuntsho defines Mipham as a polymath and gives this assessment of the scope of Mipham's work: Mipham is perhaps the greatest polymath Tibet ever produced. His writings comprise works on a wide range of subjects, covering almost every science known to his milieu. In traditional terms he is a Mahāpaṇḍita who has mastered the ten sciences of arts and crafts (bzo) , health science (gso ba) , language (sgra) , logico-epistemology (tshad-ma) , soteriology (nang don) , poetry ( snyan ngag) , lexicology (mngon brjod) , prosody (sdeb sbyor) , dramaturgy (zlos gar) , and astrology (dkar rtsis) . It

4559-684: The Dzogchen teaching in three principles, known as "Striking the Vital Point in Three Statements" ( Tsik Sum Né Dek ), said to be his last words. They give in short the development a student has to undergo: Garab Dorje's three statements were integrated into the Nyingthig traditions, the most popular of which in the Longchen Nyingthig by Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798). The statements are: Nyingma Dzogchen texts use unique terminology to describe

4656-584: The Dzogchen tradition portrays ultimate reality as something which is "beyond the concepts of one and many." According to the Dzogchen-teachings, the Ground or Buddha-nature has three qualities: Herbert V. Guenther points out that this Ground is both a static potential and a dynamic unfolding. They give a process-orientated translation, to avoid any essentialist associations, since ngo-bo (facticity) has nothing to do with nor can even be reduced to

4753-435: The Dzogchen view (Tib. tawa ). Some of these terms deal with the different elements and features of the mind and are drawn from classic Buddhist thought. The generic term for consciousness is shes pa ( Skt. vijñāna ), and includes the six sense consciousnesses. Worldly , impure and dualistic forms of consciousness are generally referred to with terms such as sems ( citta, mind), yid ( mānas ) and blo ( buddhi ). On

4850-479: The Instruction Series itself is seen as the most direct kind of realization, without the need to meditate on emptiness or mind. Over time, the Instruction Series came to dominate the Dzogchen tradition and it remains the series that is most widely practiced and taught while the other two series are rarely practiced today (with the exception of a few masters like Namkhai Norbu ). According to Namkhai Norbu ,

4947-461: The Maitreya. Heavens such as Tuṣita are said to be accessible through meditation . Xuanzang tells the account of these events: In the great mango grove five or six li to the southwest of the city ( Ayodhyā ), there is an old monastery where Asaṅga Bodhisattva received instructions and guided the common people. At night he went up to the place of Maitreya Bodhisattva in Tuṣita Heaven to learn

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5044-406: The Nyingma school which generally positioned the view of tantra as superior to the view of Madhyamaka. For Mipam, the unity of philosophical views is ultimately resolved in the principle of coalescence (Sanskrit: yuganaddha , Tib: zung 'jug ), which is the nonduality of conventional and ultimate realities, of samsara and nirvana. Unlike Tsongkhapa who held that emptiness, as an absolute negation,

5141-511: The age of ten he had already composed many texts. At twelve, he entered the monastery as an ordinary monk of the Ogmin Urgyen Mindrolling lineage at a branch monastery of the great Nyingma seat Shechen . When he was fifteen or sixteen, after studying the very difficult Mindrolling system of chanting for only a few days and praying to Manjushri , he is said to have completely mastered it. In an 18-month retreat he accomplished

5238-554: The body and vision, as well as the consequent philosophical shifts his became interwoven with." In Dzogchen, there are three central aspects: the Base , the Path and the Fruit . The Base represents the original, unchanging state of existence, characterized by emptiness, clarity, and compassionate energy. The Path comprises three key elements: view, practice, and conduct. The view focuses on gaining

5335-553: The definitive meaning in the way of just this assertion by the omniscient Longchen Rapjam . - Lion's Roar, exposition of Buddha nature . For Mipham, both of these teachings are definitive and a middle way between both of them is the best way to avoid the extremes of nihilism and essentialism. Another original contribution of Mipham is his system of fourfold valid cognition ( pramana ) which has two conventional and two ultimate valid cognitions: Conventional valid cognitions Ultimate valid cognitions According to Mipham, buddha-nature

5432-447: The demon-king Pehar taking power in China, darkness and terror ('bog) will come to our sacred land, with the result that violent death shall spread like a plague through every village. Then the three lords of materialism (gsum-gyi-kla-klos) and their cousins will seize power in Tibet, spreading war, famine and oppression. No one will be safe. Now, very soon, my mind-stream will be gathered up in

5529-591: The development of the Seminal Heart movements" which focused on meditations based on tantric understandings of bodhicitta ( byang chub kyi sems ). This referred to the ultimate nature of the mind, which is empty ( stong pa ), luminous (' od gsal ba ), and pure. According to Germano, the Space and Instruction Series are associated with later (historical) developments of Dzogchen "which increasingly experimented with re-incorporating tantric contemplative techniques centered on

5626-537: The dissolution of dualities. Dzogchen practitioners aim for self-liberation ( Tibetan : རང་གྲོལ་ , Wylie : rang grol ), where all experiences are integrated with awareness of one's true nature. This process may culminate in the attainment of a rainbow body at the moment of death, symbolizing full Buddhahood . Critics point to tensions between gradual and simultaneous practice within Dzogchen traditions, but practitioners argue these approaches cater to different levels of ability and understanding. Overall, Dzogchen offers

5723-604: The early 12th century) many new Vajrayāna texts, teachings and practices were introduced from India. At this time, the Nyingma school and its Dzogchen traditions reinvented themselves, producing many new scriptures and developing new practices influenced by the Sarma traditions. These new influences were absorbed into Dzogchen through the practice of finding treasure texts ( terma ) that were discovered by "treasure revealers" ( tertons ). These tantric elements included subtle body practices, visionary practices like dark retreat , and

5820-510: The emergence of new Dzogchen traditions like the "Instruction Class series" and the "Seminal Heart" ( Tibetan : སྙིང་ཐིག་ , Wylie : snying thig ). Dzogchen is classified into three series: the Semdé (Mind Series, Tibetan : སེམས་སྡེ་ , Wylie : sems sde ), Longdé (Space Series, Tibetan : ཀློང་སྡེ་ , Wylie : klong sde ), and Menngaggidé (Instruction Series, Tibetan : མན་ངག་གི་སྡེ་ , Wylie : man ngag gi sde ). The Dzogchen path comprises

5917-431: The first model because in the first model only emptiness is ultimate while in the second model the ultimate truth is the meditative experience of unitary wisdom. Instead of just being a negation, it includes the subjective content of the cognition of wisdom as well as the objective nature of reality. In this model the ultimate truth is also reality experienced nonconceptually, without duality and reification, which in Dzogchen

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6014-638: The five revealed scriptures are: the Yogācārabhūmi , *Yogavibhāga [now lost] , Mahāyānasūtrālamkārakā , Madhyāntavibhāga and the Vajracchedikākāvyākhyā. Dzogchen Samding Dorje Phagmo Dzogchen ( Tibetan : རྫོགས་ཆེན་ , Wylie : rdzogs chen 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as atiyoga ( utmost yoga ), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in

6111-430: The form of Manjushri known as 'Lion of Philosophers' (Tibetan: smra ba'i seng ge), using a liturgy composed by the fifteenth Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje. He made many medicinal pills blessed with Manjushri's mantra , and many miraculous signs were said to have been manifest. After this, it was said that he could accomplish any sutra or tantra without any effort, and no text was unknown to him. He went to many lamas to obtain

6208-462: The form of a turban-like headdress—that allows the religious practitioner to gain access to the source of vitality located in the heavens. Both the head and the headdress have deep resonances with animals—particularly deer and sheep—which are central for the sky-gazing practice because of their ability to ascend and descend vertically to move in between various realms of existence. Norbu notes that "Tantric practices may be used as secondary practices by

6305-488: The fruit or result of practice are non-dual from the ultimate perspective, in Dzogchen understands the path as not separate from the result or fruit of the path (i.e. Buddhahood ). Once a Dzogchen practitioner has recognized their true nature (and "do not remain in doubt" regarding this), the path consists of the integration ( sewa ) of all experiences in their life with the state of rigpa. All these experiences are self-liberated through this integration or mixing. This process

6402-467: The late 19th century, raising its status after many centuries as a comparative intellectual backwater, to arguably the most dynamic and expansive of philosophical traditions in all of Tibetan Buddhism, with an influence and impact far beyond the rNying ma pa themselves." In the Introduction to his critical study of the ontological debates between Mipham and his Gelugpa opponents ( Mipham's Dialectics and

6499-432: The level of ultimate truth and appearance representing relative truth. In this model the two truths are really the same reality and are only conceptually distinct. In his second model of the two truths, Mipham presents an authentic truth and an inauthentic truth. Authentic experience is any perception that is in accord with reality ( gnas snang mthun ) and perceptions which do not are said to be inauthentic. This differs from

6596-482: The line of the Dege Prince who died in 1942 was apparently born in Tibet in 1949 and recognised by Tengye Rinpoche of Lab i 1959 At that time he was enthroned and given responsibility for all monasteries previously held by the first and second incarnations. This third incarnation was also confirmed by Patrul Rinpoche who gave him relics of the previous incarnations and by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who he had recognized in

6693-502: The literature of the Instruction Series (c. 11th century onwards) as a way to distinguish and categorize the various Dzogchen teachings at the time. According to Instruction Series texts, the Mind Series is based on understanding that one's own mind is the basis of all appearances and that this basis, called mind itself, is empty and luminous. The Space series meanwhile is focused on emptiness (Skt. śūnyatā, T. stong-pa nyid ). Finally,

6790-508: The main Dzogchen practices becoming more infused with various preliminary and tantric methods like deity yoga, semdzin (holding the mind), rushen (separating samsara and nirvana), and vipasyana ( lhagthong ), which are all seen as skillful means to achieve the basic state of contemplation of the primordially pure state. The key Dzogchen meditation methods, which are unique to the tradition are trekchö ("cutting tension") and tögal , along with unique Dzogchen teachings on awakening in

6887-603: The mind of Mipham as a gong-ter and was written down over the course of three years from the age of 31 to 34. This practice invokes Gesar and his retinue and requests him to assist practitioners. Mipham's medical works continue to be highly regarded to this day. Mipham also wrote extensively about astrology which was, in his words, a "delightful game" that he mastered in his teens but later applied to more serious topics such as medicine; these two topics, with various texts on more or less related topics of divination, occupy perhaps 2,000 pages of his writing. An entire volume of Mipham's

6984-486: The most influential aspect of Mipham's career in that he "was the single most important author in the efflorescence of Nyingma exoteric literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Grounding himself theoretically in the writings of Longchenpa and other great Nyingma authors, Mipham produced brilliant exegetical commentaries on the great Indian philosophical systems and texts with a Nyingma orientation." E. Gene Smith also judged that Mipham's greatest contribution

7081-535: The necessary lungs (oral transmissions), but he needed no study or teachings for any texts. Mipham was "a luminary of the nineteenth century Nyingma renaissance and Rime movement ecumenical movement, which started in the Kham region of eastern Tibet ". As such he received teachings from masters of all lineages Nyingma and Sarma alike. His root gurus were Dza Patrul Rinpoche , from whom he received instruction on Shantideva 's Bodhicharyavatara and Dzogchen and

7178-442: The north." Subsequently, a number of emanations have been recognized. According to E. Gene Smith "At least three rebirths were recognized in the decade following his death: 1) Zhe chen Mi pham (a grandnephew of Mi pham rgya mtsho); 2) Tshe dbang bdud 'dul (1915/16-42) the last prince of Sde dge; 3. Khyung po Mi pham, an incarnation recognized by Rdzong gsar Mkhyen brtse 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros." The next (third) Mipham in

7275-468: The other hand, nirvanic or liberated forms of consciousness are described with terms such as ye shes ( jñāna , 'pristine consciousness') and shes rab ( prajñā , wisdom). According to Sam van Schaik , two significant terms used in Dzogchen literature is the ground ( gzhi ) and gnosis ( rig pa ), which represent the " ontological and gnoseological aspects of the nirvanic state" respectively. Nyingma Dzogchen literature also describes nirvana as

7372-477: The point of view of ultimate valid cognition, nor was it posited merely from the point of view of the mistaken perception of ordinary beings. Mipham instead held that buddha-nature was established by the conventional valid cognition of pure vision. For Mipham, when the buddha qualities appear, it is not that they are newly produced, rather they are merely made manifest. That is, while they seem to be newly arisen, they are in fact primordial endowments. Mipham inherited

7469-452: The practitioner of Dzogchen, alongside the principal practice of contemplation." Similarly, physical yoga (Tib. trulkhor ) may also be used as supporting practices. According to Namkhai Norbu, in Dzogchen, "to become realized simply means to discover and manifest that which from the very beginning has been our own true condition: the Zhi (gzhi) or Base." Since the basis, the path of practice and

7566-548: The pure-land of Tusita , from whence many emanations [of myself] shall then come forth in future years. I shall not take rebirth in Tibet. In twenty years, seek me in the northern lands of distant Uttarakuru , and elsewhere, east, west, north and south. Fear not, we shall be re-united again, as father and son. Now go! In the above account, shortly after the departure of Khenpo Kunphel he stated publicly, "Now, soon I shall depart. I shall not be reborn again in Tibet, therefore do not search for me. I have reason to go to Shambhala in

7663-849: The purpose of divination, citing sources in the Sutras and Tantras where the utility and value of divination are explained. Mipham's most important students were Dodrub Rinpoche, Terton Sogyal, the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Gemang Kyab Gon, Khenpo Padmavajra, Katog Situ Rinpoche, Sechen Rabjam, Gyaltsab Tulku, Palyul Gyaltrul, Karma Yangtrul, Palpung Situ Rinpoche, Ling Jetrung, Adzom Drukpa (1842-1924) , Togdan Shakya Shri, Ngor Ponlob, and others. The great tulkus of Sechen, Dzogchen, Katog, Palyul, Palpung, Dege Gonchen, Repkong and others of all lineages, Sakya, Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma, all became his disciples. According to one account shortly before he died, Mipham told his attendant: Nowadays, if you speak

7760-408: The realm beyond achievement, it is perfection. Because fruit is the perfect twenty-five wisdoms in the realm beyond frame of reference, it is perfection. The Mirror of the Heart of Vajrasattva explains that Dzogchen is "great" because: The Three Series of Dzogchen ( Tibetan : རྫོགས་ཆེན་སྡེ་གསུམ་ , Wylie : rdzogs chen sde gsum ) are a traditional Tibetan Buddhist classification which divides

7857-466: The rejection of normative Vajrayana practice. Germano calls the early Dzogchen traditions "pristine Great Perfection" since it is marked "by the absence of presentations of detailed ritual and contemplative technique" as well as a lack of funerary, charnel ground and death imagery found in some Buddhist tantras. According to Germano, instead of tantric deity yoga methods, early Dzogchen mainly focused on simple calming ( śamatha ) contemplations leading to

7954-477: The renowned master Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo , from whom he received transmission of the orally transmitted or Kama and revealed or Terma lineages, and many other teachings. His other teachers included Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye ; Dzogchen Khenpo Padma Vajra; Lab Kyabgon Wangchen Gyerab Dorje; Jubon Jigme Dorje; Bumsar Geshe Ngawang Jungne and Ngor Ponlop Jamyang Loter Wangpo. A key theme in Mipham's philosophical work

8051-400: The shape, size and color of flames in the agnihotra or fire puja; the quality of burning butter lamps, especially the size of the flame, the amount and shape of smoke that arises; and the size and shape of the carbon deposit on the wick. When some of his scholarly rivals thought it inappropriate for a monk to devote so much time to matters of future events, Mipham wrote a short essay explaining

8148-422: The stage after the deity visualisation has been dissolved and one rests in the natural state of the innately luminous and pure mind . According to Sam van Schaik , in the 8th-century tantra Sarvabuddhasamāyoga, the term refers to "a realization of the nature of reality" which arises through the practice of tantric anuyoga practices which produce bliss. In the 10th and 11th centuries, when Dzogchen emerged as

8245-522: The teaching. [So] there is no point whatsoever in my taking rebirth here…I have no reason to take birth in impure realms ever again. This may be interpreted as a statement that his mindstream would have no further 'emanations' (Wylie: sprul pa ( emanation body ); sprul sku ( tulku )). Conversely, according to another account in which he mentions the mindstream in passing and prophesies the shortly before his death to his student Khenpo Kunphel : Now I shall not remain long in this body. After my death, in

8342-578: The teachings of the Nyingma school's Dzogchen tradition into three series, divisions or sections. These three are: the Semde ('Mind Series'), the Longdé ('Space Series') and the Menngagde ('Instruction Series'). Traditional accounts of the Nyingma school attribute this schema to the Indian master Mañjuśrīmitra (c. 8th century). According to modern Tibetologists , this doxographic schema actually developed in

8439-420: The teachings of the second turning ( Prajnaparamita sutras) and third turning ( Yogacara and Buddha nature sutras) respectively: The emptiness taught in the middle wheel and the exalted body and wisdom taught in the last wheel should be integrated as a unity of emptiness and appearance. Without dividing or excluding the definitive meaning subject matters of the middle and last wheels, both should be held to be

8536-407: The term thod rgal is generally translated as "Direct Transcendence" or "Leap Over," Geisshuesler argues that the expression really means "Skullward Leap" as it consists of the Tibetan words thod ("above," "over," but also "head wrapper," "turban," "skull") and rgal ("to leap over"). In the larger Tibetan cultural area, it is the most elevated part of the human body—the skull or, its extension in

8633-399: The three series are three modes of presenting and introducing the state of Dzogchen. Norbu states that Mennagde is a more direct form of introduction, Longde is closely associated with symbolic forms of introducing Dzogchen and Semde is more focused on oral forms of introduction. Germano writes that the Mind Series serves as a classification for the earlier texts and forms of Dzogchen "prior to

8730-426: The time the head of the Nyingma lineage. He is now known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche , and is the spiritual head of Shambhala International. In contemporary scholarship, the nomenclature "Mi-pam" and "Mipam" has become an accepted alternative. Writers such as Hopkins and Duckworth have adopted this convention. He is also known by the following alternate names: Maitreya-natha Maitreya-nātha (c. 270–350 CE)

8827-433: The truth, there is nobody to listen; if you speak lies everyone thinks it is true. I have never said this before: I am not an ordinary person; I am a bodhisattva who has taken rebirth through aspiration. The suffering experienced in this body is just the residue of karma; but from now on I will never again have to experience karmic obscuration. … Now, in this final age, the barbarians beyond the frontier are close to undermining

8924-551: The ultimate ground of existence. The goal of Dzogchen is knowledge of this basis; this knowledge is called rigpa ( Sanskrit : vidyā ). There are spiritual practices taught in various Dzogchen systems for awakening rigpa . Dzogchen emerged during the first dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet , around the 7th to 9th centuries CE. While it is considered a Tibetan development by some scholars, it draws upon key ideas from Indian sources. The earliest Dzogchen texts appeared in

9021-515: The word "mi-pham" is the standard translation of the Sanskrit "ajita", meaning "unconquered", which is a common epithet of the celestial bodhisattva Maitreya . Samding Dorje Phagmo Mipham the Great was born to an aristocratic family in 1846 in the Derge Principality of Kham or Eastern Tibet . He was recognized as an exceptional child from a young age, memorizing texts as early as age six. By

9118-625: The writings of Śāntarakṣita , Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo , and Longchenpa , Mipham produced a whole array of brilliant exegetical commentaries on the great Indian philosophical systems and texts that clearly articulated a Nyingma orientation or view. The texts include his commentaries on the Mulamadhyamakakarika or Fundamental Stanzas on Wisdom by Nagarjuna ; the Introduction to the Middle Way (Sanskrit: Madhyamakāvatāra ) of Chandrakirti ;

9215-554: Was "in his brilliant and strikingly original commentaries on the Indian treatises." Prior to Mipham, Nyingmapa scholars "had seldom written detailed pedagogical commentaries on the śāstras of exoteric Buddhism." Until his time the colleges or shedra associated with the great Nyingma monasteries of Kham, such as Dzogchen , Shechen , Kathog , Palyul and Tarthang lacked their own exegetical commentaries on these exoteric Mahayana śāstras , and students commonly studied Gelug commentaries on these fundamental texts. Grounding himself in

9312-449: Was neither [1] truly established, [2] a mere emptiness, nor [3] an impermanent and conditioned entity. In this way, he distinguished his unique position on buddha-nature from those of the Jonang , Gelug , and Sakya ; which correspond respectively to the first, second, and third positions. Moreover, as Mipham's commentator Bötrül points out, for Mipham, buddha-nature was neither established from

9409-477: Was the definitive reality and view, Mipham sees coalescence of gnosis and emptiness, form and emptiness, etc. as "the ultimate hermeneutical cornerstone of his interpretations". In his many texts Mipham explores the tension and dialectic that arises between philosophical reasoning of the ordinary mind ( rnam shes ) which is represented by the Madhyamaka philosophy and luminous nonconceptual wisdom ( ye shes ), which

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