Born in Eastern Tibet in 1938, Namkhai
Norbu is a recognized Dzogchen master and lineage holder
who began teaching in the West in 1976. Dzogchen, or 'Great Perfection'
is the central teaching of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism,
and is considered by them to be the highest and most definitive
path to enlightenment. This essay provides precise and detailed
instructions on the essential aspects of Dzogchen practice, and is
an excellent reference for anyone interested in meditation practice
or spiritual discipline of any kind.
A practitioner of Dzogchen must have precise presence and
awareness. Until one really and truly knows one's own mind and can
govern it with awareness, even if very many explanations of reality
are given, they remain nothing more than ink on paper or matters
for debate among intellectuals, without the possibility of the
birth of any understanding of the real meaning. In the Kun-byed
rgyal-po, a tantra of Dzogchen, it is said that: "The Mind is
that which creates both Samsara and Nirvana, so one needs to know
this King which creates everything!" We say we transmigrate in the
impure and illusory vision of Samsara, but in reality, it's just
our mind that is transmigrating. And then again, as far as pure
Enlightenment is concerned, it's only our own mind, purified, that
realizes it.
Our mind is the basis of everything, and from our mind
everything arises, Samsara and Nirvana, ordinary sentient beings
and Enlightened Ones. Consider the way beings transmigrate in the
impure vision of Samsara: even though the Essence of the Mind, the
true nature of our mind, is totally pure right from the beginning,
nevertheless, because pure mind is temporarily obscured by the
impurity of ignorance, there is no self-recognition of our own
State. Through this lack of self-recognition arise illusory
thoughts and actions created by the passions. Thus various negative
karmic causes are accumulated and since their maturation as effects
is inevitable, one suffers bitterly, transmigrating in the six
states of existence. Thus, not recognizing one's own State
is the cause of transmigration, and through this cause one
becomes the slave of illusions and distractions.
Conditioned by the mind, one becomes strongly habituated to
illusory actions. And then it's the same as far as pure
Enlightenment is concerned; beyond one's own mind there is no
dazzling light to come shining in from outside to wake one up. If
one recognizes one's own intrinsic State as pure from the beginning
and only temporarily obscured by impurities, and if one maintains
the presence of this recognition without becoming distracted, then
all the impurities dissolve. This is the essence of the Path. Then
the inherent quality of the great original purity of the Primordial
State manifests, and one recognizes it and becomes the master of it
as a lived experience. This experience of the real knowledge of the
authentic original condition, or the true awareness of the State,
is what is called Nirvana. So Enlightenment is nothing other than
one's own mind in its purified condition. For this reason Padma
Sambhava said: "the mind is the creator of Samsara and of Nirvana.
Outside the mind there exists neither Samsara nor Nirvana." Having
thus established that the basis of Samsara and Nirvana is the mind,
it follows that all that seems concrete in the world, and all the
seeming solidity of beings themselves, is nothing but an illusory
vision of one's own mind.
Just as a person who has a 'bile' disease sees a shell as being
yellow even if one can see objectively that that is not its true
color, so in just the same way, as a result of the particular
karmic causes of sentient beings, the various illusory visions
manifest. Thus, if one were to meet a being of each of the six
states of existence on the bank of the same river, they would not
see that river in the same way, since they each would have
different karmic causes. The beings of the hot hells would see the
river as fire; those of the cold hells would see it as ice; beings
of the hungry ghost realm would see the river as blood and pus;
aquatic animals would see it as an environment to live in; human
beings would see the river as water to drink; while the demi-gods
would see it as weapons, and the gods as nectar. This shows that in
reality nothing exists as concrete and objective. Therefore,
understanding that the root of Samsara is truly the mind, one
should set out to pull up the root. Recognizing that the mind
itself is the essence of Enlightenment one attains liberation.
Thus, being aware that the basis of Samsara and Nirvana is only the
mind, one takes the decision to practice.
At this point, with mindfulness and determination, it is
necessary to maintain a continuous present awareness without
becoming distracted. If, for example, one wants to stop a river
from flowing, one must block it at its source, in such a way that
its flow is definitively interrupted; whatever other point you may
choose to block it at, you will not obtain the same result.
Similarly, if we want to cut the root of Samsara, we must cut the
root of the mind that has created it; otherwise there would be no
way of becoming free of Samsara. If we want all the suffering and
hindrances arising from our negative actions to dissolve, we must
cut the root of the mind, which produced them. If we don't do this,
even if we carry out virtuous actions with our body and voice,
there will be no result beyond a momentary fleeting benefit.
Besides, never having cut the root of negative actions, they can
once again be newly accumulated, in just the same way that if one
only lops off a few leaves and branches from a tree instead of
cutting its main root, far from the tree shriveling up, it will
without doubt grow once again. If the mind, the King that creates
everything, is not left in its natural condition, even if one
practices the tantric methods of the 'Developing' and 'Perfecting'
stages, and recites many mantras, one is not on the path to total
liberation.
If one wants to conquer a country, one must subjugate the King
or the Lord of that country; just to subjugate a part of the
population or some functionary won't bring about the fulfillment of
one's aim. If one does not maintain a continuous presence, and lets
oneself be dominated by distractions, one will never liberate
oneself from endless Samsara. On the other hand, if one doesn't
allow oneself to be dominated by neglectfulness and illusions, but
has self-control, knowing how to continue in the true State with
present awareness, then one unites in oneself the essence of all
the Teachings, the root of all the Paths.
Because all the various factors of dualistic vision, such as
Samsara and Nirvana, happiness and suffering, good and bad etc.,
arise from the mind we can conclude that the mind is their
fundamental basis. This is why non-distraction is the root of the
Paths and the fundamental principle of the practice. It was by
following this supreme path of continuous presence that all the
Buddhas of the past became enlightened, by following this same path
the Buddhas of the future will become enlightened, and the Buddhas
of the present, following this right path, are enlightened. Without
following this Path, it is not possible to attain
enlightenment.
Therefore, because the continuation in the presence of the true
State is the essence of all the Paths, the root of all meditations,
the conclusion of all spiritual practices, the juice of all
esoteric methods, the heart of all ultimate teachings, it is
necessary to seek to maintain a continuous presence without
becoming distracted. What this means is: don't follow the past,
don't anticipate the future, and don't follow illusory thoughts
that arise in the present; but turning within oneself, one should
observe one's own true condition and maintain the awareness of it
just as it is, beyond conceptual limitations of the 'three times'.
One must remain in the uncorrected condition of one's own natural
state, free from the impurity of judgments between 'being and
non-being', 'having and not-having', 'good and bad', and so on.
The original condition of the Great Perfection is truly beyond
the limited conceptions of the 'three times'; but those who are
just beginning the practice, at any rate, do not yet have this
awareness and find it difficult to experience the recognition of
their own State; it is therefore very important not to allow
oneself to be distracted by the thoughts of the 'three times'. If,
in order not to become distracted, one tries to eliminate all one's
thoughts, becoming fixated on the search for a state of calm or a
sensation of pleasure, it is necessary to remember that this is an
error, in that the very 'fixation' one is engaged in is, in itself,
nothing but another thought.
One should relax the mind, maintaining only the awakened
presence of one's own State, without allowing oneself to be
dominated by any thought whatsoever. When one is truly relaxed, the
mind finds itself in its natural condition. If out of this natural
condition thoughts arise, whether good or bad, rather than trying
to judge whether one is in the calm state or in the wave of
thoughts, one should just acknowledge all thoughts with the
awakened presence of the State itself. When thoughts are given just
this bare attention of simple acknowledgment, they relax into their
own true condition, and as long as this awareness of their
relaxedness lasts one should not forget to keep the mind present.
If one becomes distracted and does not simply acknowledge the
thoughts, then it is necessary to give more attention to making
one's awareness truly present. If one finds that thoughts arise
about finding oneself in a state of calm, without abandoning simple
presence of mind, one should continue by observing the state of
movement of the thought itself. In the same way, if no thoughts
arise, one should continue with the presence of the simple
acknowledgment that just gives bare attention to the state of calm.
This means maintaining the presence of this natural state, without
attempting to fix it within any conceptual framework or hoping for
it to manifest in any particular form, color, or light, but just
relaxing into it, in a condition undisturbed by the characteristics
of the ramifications of thought.
Even if those who begin to practice this find it difficult to
continue in this state for more than an instant, there is no need
to worry about it. Without wishing for the state to continue for a
long time and without fearing the lack of it altogether, all that
is necessary is to maintain pure presence of mind, without falling
into the dualistic situation of there being an observing subject
perceiving an observed object. If the mind, even though one
maintains simple presence, does not remain in this calm state, but
always tends to follow waves of thoughts about the past or future,
or becomes distracted by the aggregates of the senses such as
sight, hearing, etc., then one should try to understand that the
wave of thought itself is as insubstantial as the wind. If one
tries to catch the wind, one does not succeed; similarly if one
tries to block the wave of thought, it cannot be cut off. So for
this reason one should not try to block thought, much less try to
renounce it as something considered negative. In reality, the calm
state is the essential condition of mind, while the wave of thought
is the mind's natural clarity in function; just as there is no
distinction whatever between the sun and its rays, or a stream and
its ripples, so there is no distinction between the mind and
thought. If one considers the calm state as something positive to
be attained, and the wave of thought as something negative to be
abandoned, and one remains thus caught up in the duality of
accepting and rejecting, there is no way of overcoming the ordinary
state of mind.
Therefore the essential principle is to acknowledge with bare
attention, without letting oneself become distracted, whatever
thought arises, be it good or bad, important or less important, and
to continue to maintain presence in the state of the moving wave of
thought itself. When a thought arises and one does not succeed in
remaining calm with this presence, since other such thoughts may
follow, it is necessary to be skilful in acknowledging it with
non-distraction. 'Acknowledging' does not mean seeing it with one's
eyes, or forming a concept about it. Rather it means giving bare
attention, without distraction to whatever thought of the 'three
times', or whatever perception of the senses may arise, and thus
being fully conscious of this 'wave' while continuing in the
presence of the pure awareness.
It absolutely does not mean modifying the mind in some way, such
as by trying to imprison thought or to block its flow. It is
difficult for this acknowledgment with bare attention, without
distraction, to last for a long time for someone who is beginning
this practice, as a result of strong mental habits of distraction
acquired through transmigration in the course of unlimited time. If
we only take into consideration this present lifetime, from the
moment of our birth right up until the present we have done nothing
other than live distractedly, and there has never been an
opportunity to train in the presence of awareness and
non-distraction. For this reason, until we become no longer capable
of entering into distraction, if, through lack of attention, we
find ourselves becoming dominated by neglectfulness and
forgetfulness, we must try by every means to become aware of what
is happening through relying on the presence of mind. There is no
'meditation' that you can find beyond this continuing in one's own
true condition with the presence of the calm state, or with the
moving wave of thought. Beyond recognition with bare attention and
continuing in one's own State, there is nothing to seek that is
either very good or very dear.
If one hopes that something will manifest from outside oneself,
instead of continuing in the presence of one's own State, this is
like the saying that tells about an evil spirit coming to the
Eastern gate, and the ransom to buy him off being sent to the
Western gate. In such a case, even if one believes one is
meditating perfectly, in reality, it's just a way of tiring oneself
out for nothing. So continuing in the State which one finds within
oneself is really the most important thing. If one neglects that
which one has within oneself and instead seeks something else, one
becomes like the beggar who had a precious stone for a pillow, but
not knowing it for what it was, had to go to such great pains to
beg for alms for a living.
Therefore, maintaining the presence of one's own State and
observing the wave of thought, without judging whether this
presence is more or less clear, and without thinking of the calm
state and the wave of thought in terms of the acceptance of the one
and the rejection of the other, absolutely not conditioned by
wanting to change anything whatsoever, one continues without
becoming distracted, and without forgetting to keep one’s awareness
present; governing oneself in this way one gathers the essence of
the practice.
Some people are disturbed when they hear noises made by other
people walking, talking and so on, and they become irritated by
this, or else becoming distracted by things external to themselves,
they give birth to many illusions. This is the mistaken path known
as 'the dangerous passageway in which external vision appears to
one as an enemy'. What this means is that, even though one knows
how to continue in the knowledge of the condition of both the state
of calm and the wave of thought, one has not yet succeeded in
integrating this state with one's external vision. If this should
be the case, while still always maintaining present awareness, if
one sees something, one should not be distracted, but, without
judging what one sees as pleasant, one should relax and continue in
the presence. If a thought arises judging experience as pleasant
and unpleasant, one should just acknowledge it with bare attention
and continue in present awareness without forgetting it. If one
finds oneself in an annoying circumstance, such as surrounded by a
terrible row, one should just acknowledge this disagreeable
circumstance and continue in present awareness, without forgetting
it.
If one does not know how to integrate the presence of awareness
with all one's daily actions, such as eating, walking, sleeping,
sitting, and so on, then it is not possible to make the state of
contemplation last beyond the limited duration of a session of
sitting meditation.
If this is so, not having been able to establish true present
awareness, one creates a separation between one's sessions of
sitting practice and one's daily life. So it is very important to
continue in present awareness without distraction, integrating it
with all the actions of one's daily life. The Buddha, in the
Prajñápáramitá Sutra (commonly called 'The Heart
Sutra') said: "Subhuti, in what way does a
Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, being aware that he has a body, practice
perfect conduct? Subhuti, a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, when walking,
is fully mindful that he is walking; when he stands up is fully
mindful of standing up; when sitting is fully mindful of sitting;
when sleeping is fully mindful of sleeping; and if his body is well
or ill, he is fully mindful of either condition!" That's just how
it is!
To understand how one can integrate present awareness with all
the activities of one's daily life, let's take the example of
walking. There's no need to jump up immediately and walk in a
distracted and agitated way, marching up and down and breaking
everything one finds in front of one, as soon as the idea of
walking arises. Rather, as one gets up, one can do so remembering
'now I am getting up, and while walking I do not want to become
distracted'. In this way, without becoming distracted,
step-by-step, one should govern oneself with the presence of
awareness. In the same way, if one remains seated, one should not
forget this awareness, and whether one is eating a tasty morsel, or
having a drop to drink, or saying a couple of words, whatever
action one undertakes, whether it is of greater or lesser
importance, one should continue with present awareness of
everything without becoming distracted.
Since we are so strongly habituated to distraction it is
difficult to give birth to this presence of awareness, and this is
especially true for those who are just beginning to practice. But
whenever there's any new kind of work to be done, the first thing
one has to do is to learn it. And even if at the first few attempts
one is not very practiced, with experience, little by little the
work becomes easy. In the same way, in learning contemplation, at
the beginning one needs commitment and a definite concern not to
become distracted, following that one must maintain present
awareness as much as possible, and finally, if one becomes
distracted, one must notice it. If one perseveres in one's
commitment to maintaining present awareness, it is possible to
arrive at a point where one no longer ever becomes distracted.
In general, in Dzogchen, the Teaching of spontaneous
self-perfection, one speaks of the self-liberation of the way of
seeing, of the way of meditating, of the way of behaving, and of
the fruit, but this self-liberation must arise through the presence
of awareness. In particular, the self-liberation of the way of
behaving absolutely cannot arise if it is not based on the presence
of awareness. So, if one does not succeed in making the
self-liberation of one's way of behaving precise, one cannot
overcome the distinction between sessions of sitting meditation and
one's daily life.
When we speak of the self-liberation of one's way of behaving as
the fundamental principle of all the tantra, the
agama, and the upadesa of Dzogchen, this pleases
the young people of today a great deal. But some of them do not
know that the real basis of self-liberation is the presence of
awareness, and many of them, even if they understand this a little
in theory, and know how to speak of it, nevertheless, just the same
have the defect of not applying it. If a sick person knows
perfectly well the properties and functions of a medicine and is
also expert in giving explanations about it, but doesn't ever take
the medicine, he or she can never get well. In the same way,
throughout limitless time we have been suffering from the serious
illness of being subject to the dualistic condition, and the only
remedy for this illness is real knowledge of the state of
self-liberation without falling into limitations.
When one is in contemplation, in the continuation of the
awareness of the true State, then it is not necessary to consider
one's way of behaving as important, but, on the other hand, for
someone who is beginning to practice, there is no way of entering
into practice other than by alternating sessions of sitting
meditation with one's daily life. This is because we have such
strong attachment, based on logical thinking, on regarding the
objects of our senses as being concrete, and, even more so, based
on our material body made of flesh and blood. When we meditate on
the 'absence of self-nature', examining mentally our head and the
limbs of our body, eliminating them one by one as 'without self',
we can finally arrive at establishing that there is no 'self' or
'I'. But this 'absence of self-nature' remains nothing but a piece
of knowledge arrived at through intellectual analysis, and there is
as yet no real knowledge of this 'absence of self-nature'. Because,
while we are cozily talking about this 'absence of self-nature', if
it should happen that we get a thorn in our foot, there's no doubt
that we'll right away be yelping "ow! ow! ow!" This shows that we
are still subject to the dualistic condition and that the 'absence
of self-nature' so loudly proclaimed with our mouth has not become
a real lived state for us.
For this reason it is indispensable to regard as extremely
important the presence of awareness, which is the basis of
self-liberation in one's daily conduct. Since there have been
different ways of regarding conduct as important, there have arisen
various forms of rules established according to the external
conditions prevailing at the time, such as religious rules and
judicial laws. There is, however, a great deal of difference
between observing rules through compulsion and observing them
through awareness. Since, in general, everyone is conditioned by
karma, by the passions, and by dualism, there are very few people
who observe rules and laws through awareness. For this reason, even
if they don't want to do so, human beings have had obligatorily to
remain subject to the power of various kinds of rules and laws.
We are already conditioned by karma, by the passions, and by
dualism. If one then adds limitations derived from having
compulsorily to follow rules and laws, our burden becomes even
heavier, and without doubt we get even further from the correct
'way of seeing' and from the right 'way of behaving'. If one
understands the term 'self-liberating' as meaning that one can just
do whatever one wants, this is not correct; this is absolutely not
what the principle of self-liberation means, and to believe such a
mistaken view would show that one has not truly understood what
awareness means. But then again we should not consider the
principle of laws and rules as being just the same as the principle
of awareness. Laws and rules are in fact established on the basis
of circumstances of time and place, and work by conditioning the
individual with factors outside him or herself.
Awareness, on the other hand, arises from a state of knowledge
which the individual him or herself possesses. Because of this,
laws and rules sometimes correspond to the inherent awareness of
the individual, and sometimes do not. However, if one has
awareness, it is possible to overcome the situation of being bound
by compulsion to follow rules and laws. Not only is this so, but an
individual who has awareness and keeps it stably present is also
capable of living in peace under all the rules and laws there are
in the world, without being in any way conditioned by them. Many
Masters have said: "Urge on the horse of awareness with the whip of
presence!" And, in fact, if awareness is not quickened by presence
it cannot function.
Let's examine an example of awareness: suppose that in front of
a person in a normal condition there is a cup full of poison, and
that person is aware of what it is. Adult and balanced persons,
knowing the poison for what it is and aware of the consequences of
taking it, do not need much clarification about it. But they have
to warn those who don't know about the poison being there, by
saying something like: "In this cup there is some poison, and it's
deadly if swallowed!" Thus, by creating awareness in others, the
danger can be avoided. This is what we mean by awareness. But there
are cases of persons who, although they know the danger of the
poison, don't give any importance to it, or still have doubts as to
whether it really is a dangerous poison, or who really lack all
awareness, and with these people it is simply not sufficient to
just say: "This is poison". For them one has to say: "It is
forbidden to drink this substance, on pain of punishment by the
law". And through this kind of threat the law protects the lives of
these individuals. This is the principle on which laws are based,
and even if it is very different from the principle of awareness,
it is nevertheless indispensable as a means to save the lives of
those who are unconscious and without awareness.
Now we can continue the metaphor of the poison to show what we
mean by presence. If the person who has a cup of poison in front of
them, even though they are aware and know very well what the
consequences of taking the poison would be, does not have a
continuous presence of attention to the fact that the cup contains
poison, it may happen that they become distracted and swallow some
of it. So if awareness is not continually accompanied by presence
it is difficult for there to be the right results. This is what we
mean by presence.
In the Mahayana, the principle to which maximum importance is
given, and the essence itself of the Mahayana doctrine, is the
union of void-ness and compassion. But, in truth, if one does not
have awareness inseparably linked to presence, there absolutely
cannot arise a really genuine compassion. As long as one does not
have the real experience of being moved by compassion for others,
it is useless to pretend that one is so very full of compassion.
There is a Tibetan proverb about this, which says: "Even if you've
got eyes to see other people, you need a mirror to see yourself!"
As this proverb implies, if one really wants a genuine compassion
for others to arise in oneself, it is necessary to observe one's
own defects, be aware of them, and mentally put yourself in other
people's places to really discover what those persons' actual
conditions might be. The only way to succeed in this is to have the
presence of awareness. Otherwise, even if one pretends to have
great compassion, a situation will sooner or later arise which
shows that compassion has never really been born in us at all.
Until a pure compassion does arise, there is no way to overcome
one's limits and barriers. And it happens that many practitioners,
as they progress in the practice, just end up thinking of
themselves as being a 'divinity' and thinking of everyone else as
being 'evil spirits'. Thus they are doing nothing other than
increasing their own limits, developing attachment towards
themselves, and hatred towards others. Or, even if they talk a
great deal about Mahamudra and Dzogchen, all they are really doing
is becoming more expert and refined in the ways of behaving of the
eight worldly dharmas. This is a sure sign that a true compassion
has not arisen in us, and the root of the matter is that there has
never really arisen the presence of awareness. So, without
chattering about it, or getting caught up in trying to hide behind
an elegant facade, one should try really and truly to cause the
presence of awareness actually to arise in oneself, and then carry
it into practice. This is the most important point of the practice
of Dzogchen.
This paper is dedicated by the practitioner of Dzogchen, Namkhai
Norbu, to his disciples of the Dzogchen Community. Into the lion's
mouth!
This short text by Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche was
originally written in Tibetan in 1977. It was then translated into
Italian by Adriano Clemente and into English by John Shane, and was
published as a small pamphlet on the occasion of the first
International Conference on Tibetan Medicine, held in Venice and
Arcidosso, Italy, 1983. It has since been published (in different
translation) as a booklet by Barrytown Limited, and was included in
several additions of the book The Crystal and the Way of
Light, an excellent collection of Norbu Rinpoche's teachings.
You can find a plain text version HERE.
For more on Namkhai Norbu and the Dzogchen Community of
North America: tsegyalgar.org