C T

Lets see how long you can remain in that super-sounding state without the back-up of the foundational practices.

Synched

Speaking of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, you may want to read his book Rainbow Painting. In it, he strongly advocates the importance of Ngondro. True though what you said about direct introduction. Ngondro is not a prerequisite, but more of a post-requisite as a means to stabilise what has been introduced, aka the View. Without this stabilising fulcrum, it can be difficult to maintain that which has been introduced, and some, if not many inductees (students) don't seem to know what to do after the fact, and have that look which seems to say, "Now what?" Its not as simple as simply sitting and staring at the sky, as some 'senior' practitioner here would like us to believe.

This is true... after years of purification and transformation. To assume otherwise is delusional thinking.

It was only a presumptive opening employed by Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche to emphasise a point. We don't exactly know if that was what Garab Dorje said or didn't say. Any teacher can utter a similar thing, either in the affirmative or otherwise. Its not validated in other words.

Eh, thats a laudable undertaking, Wells. It will help to purify some of your obscurations. Thumbs up!

Ngondro is not a passport to the higher teachings. Ngondro (specifically the Longchen *Nyingtik) is in fact a condensation of the muiti-faceted higher teachings, and is a complete path in itself. It is meant for those who do not have the time to spend years studying under a geshe, or do not have access to the constant companionship of a wise spiritual friend. Dilgo Khyentse: "The cycle of the Longchen Nyingtik is composed of many sections. It includes the preliminary and main practices, the development and completion stages, and, most important, the practice of Ati Yoga, or Dzogchen. It thus constitutes a complete path to enlightenment." Dilgo Khyentse: "When we take our first steps on the Path, we are not yet capable of helping others. To accomplish the good of others, we must first perfect ourselves, by purifying and transforming our minds. This is the aim of what we call the preliminary practices, which establish the foundations of all spiritual progress. You may feel like dispensing with these foundations in order to practice teachings that you think are more profound, but if you do so, you are building a palace on the surface of a frozen lake."

It says that the guru boys have the right tools, the right guidance and the right foundation, whereas you don't, but mistakenly assume you have no need for such.

Please return to sender. Its too valuable for me to accept.

With the profound outcome of 'capable students who attended intense seminars (whatever that means)' ending up with suspicious attitudes and probably arrogance to boot, which now prevents them from following basic advice and instruction.

What i meant to say, but was afraid of coming across as rude, is that you were probably never told that Chogyal Namkhai Norbu discovered a terma and initiated a practice called the Ati Lamgyi Ngondro. Your lack of information is quite telling.

Make up your mind what you would like to discuss - if its the historical politicking of old Tibet, then start a different thread please

Bolded for emphasis.

The question likely to impress upon reading this, is, does Master Norbu share the same sentiment?

Despite all the proclaimed exposure you claim to have received, you are yet able to distinguish the inseparability of the preliminaries with the main body of Dzogchen practice as a whole. Thats what i found a little amusing.

Kamma and Rebirth The channel for the transmission of kammic influence from life to life across the sequence of rebirths is the individual stream of consciousness. Consciousness embraces both phases of our being — that in which we generate fresh kamma and that in which we reap the fruits of old kamma — and thus in the process of rebirth, consciousness bridges the old and new existences. Consciousness is not a single transmigrating entity, a self or soul, but a stream of evanescent acts of consciousness, each of which arises, briefly subsists, and then passes away. This entire stream, however, though made up of evanescent units, is fused into a unified whole by the causal relations obtaining between all the occasions of consciousness in any individual continuum. At a deep level, each occasion of consciousness inherits from its predecessor the entire kammic legacy of that particular stream; in perishing, it in turn passes that content on to its successor, augmented by its own novel contribution. Thus our volitional deeds do not exhaust their full potential in their immediately visible effects. Every volitional deed that we perform, when it passes, leaves behind a subtle imprint stamped upon the onward-flowing stream of consciousness. The deed deposits in the stream of consciousness a seed capable of bearing fruit, of producing a result that matches the ethical quality of the deed. When we encounter suitable external conditions, the kammic seeds deposited in our mental continuum rise up from their dormant condition and produce their fruits. The most important function performed by kamma is to generate rebirth into an appropriate realm, a realm that provides a field for it to unfold its stored potentials. The bridge between the old existence and the new is, as we said above, the evolving stream of consciousness. It is within this stream of consciousness that the kamma has been created through the exercise of volition; it is this same stream of consciousness, flowing on, that carries the kammic energies into the new existence; and it is again this same stream of consciousness that experiences the fruit. Conceivably, at the deepest level all the individual streams of consciousness are integrated into a single all-embracing matrix, so that, beneath the surface of events, the separate kammic accumulations of all living beings crisscross, overlap, and merge. This hypothesis — though speculative — would help account for the strange coincidences we sometimes meet that prick holes in our assumptions of rational order. The generative function of kamma in the production of new existence is described by the Buddha in a short but pithy sutta preserved in the Anguttara Nikaya (AN III.76). Venerable Ananda approaches the Master and says, "'Existence, existence' is spoken of, venerable sir. In what way is there existence?" The Buddha replies: "If there were no kamma ripening in the sensory realm, no sense-sphere existence would be discerned. If there where no kamma ripening in the form realm, no form-sphere existence would be discerned. If there were no kamma ripening in the formless realm, no formless-sphere existence would be discerned. Therefore, Ananda, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for beings obstructed by ignorance and fettered by craving to be established in a new realm of existence, either low (sense-sphere), middling (form-sphere), or high (formless-sphere)." As long as ignorance and craving, the twin roots of the round of rebirths, remain intact in our mental continuum, at the time of death one especially powerful kamma will become ascendant and propel the stream of consciousness to the realm of existence that corresponds to its own "vibrational frequency." When consciousness, as the seed, becomes planted or "established" in that realm it sprouts forth into the rest of the psycho-physical organism, summed up in the expression "name and form" (nama-rupa). As the organism matures, it provides the site for other past kammas to gain the opportunity to produce their results. Then, within this new existence, in response to our various kammically induced experiences, we engage in actions that engender fresh kamma with the capacity to generate still another rebirth. Thereby the round of existence keeps turning from one life to the next, as the stream of consciousness, swept along by craving and steered by kamma, assumes successive modes of embodiment. The ultimate implication of the Buddha's teaching on kamma and rebirth is that human beings are the final masters of their own destiny. Through our unwholesome deeds, rooted in greed, hatred, and delusion, we create unwholesome kamma, the generative cause of bad rebirths, of future misery and bondage. Through our wholesome deeds, rooted in generosity, kindness, and wisdom, we beautify our minds and thereby create kamma productive of a happy rebirth. By using wisdom to dig more deeply below the superficial face of things, we can uncover the subtle truths hidden by our preoccupation with appearances. Thereby we can uproot the binding defilements and win the peace of deliverance, the freedom beyond the cycle of kamma and its fruit. ~ Bhikkhu Bodhi

Haha quite funny

I dont see where our views differ to any extent. The fog must be thick tonight. There is no such thing as a rare practitioner who can bypass the preliminaries. Even recognised tulkus have to undergo arduous training, for years in fact - let alone some western wannabe with a similar lack of respect like Wells. It just goes to show how arrogance can overshadow basic logical progression.

Dont know (much) about other Dzogchen communities but the one i am familiar with, all new initiates must complete the Ngondro. Some senior students who have been with the teacher for over 20 years are still doing the Ngondro as part of their daily routine. I have been with the group since 2006 and have yet to hear of any new student being initiated into the secret teachings straight away. Ngondro is also Dzogchen, and if one has the View, there will be no aversion to practicing it. The reason its not popular it seems is the (false) idea of the preliminariness associated with the practice, but what people tend to overlook is the solid structure and base that Ngondro provides to the ardent student. So, if a student has the attitude that he or she wants to bypass Ngondro and go for the real deal cos he or she has the gumption to feel that he or she is ready for it, then for sure such an attitude is already a mistaken one. A readied practitioner makes no distinctions and does not engage in selectiveness when practicing the path of direct present awareness. In contrast, a readied practitioner, one motivated by bodhicitta and joyful renunciation, does not discriminate between superior and inferior. Having this sort of thinking, a kind of haughtiness or pride will become a cause for downfall, and definitely not conducive to Dharma practice. Advice from the masters - Always keep conduct of body, speech and mind in check. The greater the realisation and emancipation, the finer the conduct. This is quite evident in all the authentic lineage masters. They usually laugh upon seeing how students get too serious or follow everything the master says with a kind of wide-eyed wonderment, but sometimes such behaviours cant be helped. Being perfectly composed and equanimous is after all quite challenging, yet those who bear such fruit will sometimes roll on the floor laughing at how silly this whole business of taking the Dharma with grave seriousness can be.

This is basically what the Vajra masters try to tell everyone, and what serious Buddhist practitioners across all traditions try to encapsulate if they are anywhere near understanding this very direct notion. The Zen masters put it very simply when they say, "Sitting quietly and composed of mind, you are no different from any buddha". In Vajrayana they speak of non-distraction, which again is pointing to the same thing. Non-distraction means the ability to sustain the View of the vast expanse without falling out into dualistic perceptions.

You are right, Tonglen would be one of the applied tools of transformation. Spot on.

Mind mired in delusion is ego; transformed, turns into bodhicitta. Its not two separate drives. The real science is the transformational process which leads to seeing that they are not two. It seems very difficult for a western mind to grasp this simple fact. Nagarjuna already made it very clear: Bondage lies in thinking of one's needs above all else - freedom lies in considering the needs of others, over and above self. The source where this particular mode of conduct, of attitude, motivation and drive begins is the same source. This is where Buddhism, specifically Mahayana, differs from other paths - it gives the means to channel negative forces as fuel for inner transformation. As a result, even a person with immense blockages can use certain 'tools' to convert those same blockages into ambrosia, or as Jeff likes to call it, light. Buddhist masters say the greater the blockages, the more fuel for the transformational process. This is because potential is limitless, and also because of inherent buddha nature. This is also what enables the effervescent power of holistic self-healing. Fragmented ideas of things dissolve - the mind and body becomes whole again.

Tibetan esoteric practices, to yield proper result, is 99% reliant on the gradual development of the student/teacher relationship, thus, just as it is improper to share intimate details of one's private life, it is just as improper to divulge intimate details of such practices, especially over the internet. It just seems more responsible not to do so, to avoid compromising the delicate and subtle energetic embryo that is being formed, but thats just me. Others might feel differently. Having a guide into spiritual terrains is as useful as having one when attempting to climb Mt Everest or venturing deep into unknown territories. Just practically useful and makes sense. Self-experimentation may produce the right result, but the odds are not great. I think those who take this route have no inkling at all whats really involved, or perhaps they do, but choose to ignore the potential repercussions of unguided sojourns.

well said.

The effortlessness comes from the well-spring of the Four Immeasurables through authentic practice so the focus is not to clear chakras and feel energy (what is this anyway and when was this ever the primary goal of authentic practice?) but to keep sight of the other shore while putting in the work. A farmer who strives tirelessly towards a bountiful harvest has no thought of hard work when the harvest is reaped. Therefore, his sight is set on the harvest, and not on the hours, days and months of toiling. He does not see it as a tiresome and tedious process, just something that adds up eventually to a result. In this sense, its actually effortless because the fruit becomes evident and he knows it. It only seems like lots of effort is needed when there is uncertainty and a lack of confidence in what one is actually aiming for.