26. august 2023
Dzogchen meditation
Dzogchen, which means "Great Perfection" in Tibetan, is a meditative direction. At the heart of Dzogchen lies recognising and experiencing that your essence is already inherently complete and flawless. This essence, known as “rigpa” or pure awareness, is not a distant goal but your current reality. Dzogchen offers a unique direct experience of this perfection. The Dzogchen path is not easy, but it is simple. We need only recognize and experience our own pure inner nature. It is not easy because the realisation lies beyond ordinary perception, hidden by concepts, thoughts and other mental constructs, and is difficult to stabilize.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoch
Renewed Dzogchen master
Three core principles of Dzogchen: the ground, the path, and the final realisation
The Ground of Dzogchen:
Dzogchen centres on understanding and experiencing that we are fundamentally composed of an "empty essence," "luminous nature," and/or "all-pervasive compassion," which is the ground of our true nature, also known as “rigpa”. This essence is beyond ordinary perception and concepts, inherently pure and unchangeable, with a clarity that is always present, regardless of our mental state.
The Path of Dzogchen
The Dzogchen path is not easy, but it is simple. One need only recognize and experience our own pure inner nature. It is not easy because the realisation lies beyond ordinary perception, hidden by concepts, thoughts and other mental constructs.
The pointing out instructions in Dzogchen are a crucial aspect of the path and practice, serving as a direct introduction to the nature of mind by a qualified teacher. These pointing out instructions are not theoretical teachings but rather an experiential guidance on how to see the minds true nature
The effectiveness of the pointing out instructions depends greatly on the receiver's preparation, openness, and capacity for insight, as well as the skill and realisation of the teacher providing the instructions.
The final realisation of Dzogchen
Once one has had a direct recognition, the practice then involves stabilising and deepening this recognition through meditations and coming back to the recognition of our true nature again and again. The goal is to maintain continuous awareness of this natural state, integrating it into all aspects of life.
Pointing out instructions
To better understand the ground of Dzogchen and the pointing out instructions, imagine standing in a pond, focused on peering into its depths, curious about what lies beneath the surface. As you gaze deeper, a teacher directs your attention to the surface, where your reflection is clearly visible amidst the tranquil water. Despite it clearly visible, you had not seen your reflection before your attention was pointed in the right direction.
This analogy mirrors the essence of the pointing out instructions in Dzogchen. The teacher's role is like that of guiding your gaze: from looking for and seeing concepts, thoughts and other mental constructs in the water to the immediate and direct recognition of your true nature (your reflection on the water’s surface), which was there all along. This moment of recognition, given the appropriate the pointing out instructions, and preparation, openness, and capacity for insight on the receiver's part, is direct and profound, a sudden clarity where you see your true self.
Dzogchen's method of recognizing the nature of mind through "pointing out instructions," aiming for a genuine experience of nonduality, described as the union of clarity (or awareness) and emptiness. This contrasts with Vipassana or mindfulness practices, which start from basic awareness techniques without requiring initial insight into nonduality.
The role of concentration in Dzogchen
In Dzogchen meditation, the role of concentration differs from its role in many other meditation traditions. While many forms of meditation emphasise the development of concentration (samadhi) as a foundational skill to stabilise the mind and cultivate focused attention, Dzogchen approaches concentration in a different way:
While concentration is a valuable skill in the preliminary stages of Dzogchen practice, the ultimate aim is to transcend the need for deliberate concentration and rest in the spontaneous awareness, which is the hallmark of Dzogchen. This approach reflects Dzogchen's emphasis on the direct realisation of the mind's inherent perfection, beyond the constructs of deliberate meditative practices.
In Dzogchen practice, the goal is not to cultivate concentration through the deliberate focusing of attention on a single object or through the suppression of distracting thoughts. Instead, Dzogchen emphasises recognizing and resting in the natural state of the mind as it is, without trying to modify or control it. This natural state is characterised by an inherent clarity and spaciousness, free from the dualistic distinctions between subject and object, and between the concentrator and the object concentrated upon. It is important to really realise that this skill, however, requires a certain amount of concentration.
