DZOGCHEN
Dzogchen means Total Perfection and simply refers to our condition of primordial potentiality as it really is. “Dzogchen Teaching” is the way we enter into knowledge of Dzogchen in order to discover our real condition. Knowledge of Dzogchen goes back to ancient times, but in our era it was transmitted for the first time by Garab Dorje a few centuries after the passing of Buddha Shakyamuni. The Dzogchen Teaching has been transmitted for centuries and centuries: masters have used this method and have taught it to their disciples, without breaking its continuity, in an uninterrupted lineage up to the present day.
The Three Series of the Dzogchen Teaching: Semde, Longde and Upadesha
Manjushrimitra received the transmission of the Dzogchen teachings in their entirety from Garab Dorje and subdivided them into three series: Semde, Longde and Mennagde. The three series are three ways of presenting the teaching, each with its corresponding methods of practice, however, the aim of all three is to lead the practitioner to final realisation.
In the Semde, the “mind series”, the practitioner is introduced to the nature of mind through the mind in order to have concrete experience of it.
Longde means the “space series” and in this instance space refers to the primordial dimension of emptiness which serves as a base for the clarity of the practitioner to manifest.
The Mennagde, the essential series of secret instructions or Upadesha, in essence includes teachings and practice methods based on the experiences of masters with the aim of helping the practitioner progress quickly up to complete realisation.
Longsal
The Longsal cycle of teachings or The Luminous Clarity of the Universe, Heart Essence of the Dakinis (female manifestations of primordial energy), were rediscovered by Chˆgyal Namkhai Norbu through his dreams of clarity. Up till now these teachings have been published in eight volumes.
Santi Maha Sangha
The Santi Maha Sangha, which means “Dzogchen Community”, is a course of study and practice in nine levels that was started in 1994 by Chˆgyal Namkhai Norbu. The aim of the Santi Maha Sangha is to guarantee the continuation of the Dzogchen teaching in a pure way, just as it was originally transmitted by Garab Dorje and just as the Master has been transmitting it for more than 30 years within the Dzogchen Community. After the “Base” level, whose contents are presented in The Precious Vase, there are three levels dedicated to the Semde, three to the Longde and the final three to the Mennagde or Upadesha.
Direct Transmission
The transmission of knowledge from master to disciple can be oral, symbolic or direct. The uniqueness of the Dzogchen teaching is the direct transmission or “direct introduction” in which the master and the student find themselves in the primordial state at the same moment through one of the experiences related to body, voice or mind. Due to the power of the transmission, the student is able to discover his or her own real condition in this way.
Guruyoga
“Guru” means master, “yoga” means having knowledge or understanding of one’s own authentic state, the essential condition just as it is, in which there is nothing to change or to modify. This is the state of the guru. Guruyoga is, therefore, the main element in Dzogchen practice.
Yantra Yoga
Yantra Yoga or the Yoga of Movement is an ancient system of Tibetan yoga based on the text The Union of the Sun and the Moon, written in the 8th century by the master Vairochana. It was introduced and taught in the West by master Chˆgyal Namkhai Norbu in the early 1970s. Yantra Yoga makes use of various types of movements and positions linked to different aspects of breathing in order to control and coordinate the vital energy or prana. Since our physical and mental wellbeing depend mainly on the condition of our energy, by practising Yantra Yoga we can keep ourselves in good health and reach a calm, present and relaxed mental state which is the base for understanding our own real condition.
Dance of the Vajra
The Dance of the Vajra was taught by Chˆgyal Namkhai Norbu at the beginning of the 1990s and is a meditation in movement based on the Song of the Vajra, an ancient mantra found in many original tantras. It is practised on a mandala representing the correspondence between the inner dimension of the individual and the outer dimension of the world.
The Dance of the Vajra is mainly a method that uses sound and movement to harmonize the energy of the individual and to integrate his or her three existences of body, voice and mind in knowledge of his or her own authentic condition or state of contemplation.
