themirror 91

8/21/2019 TheMirror 91

1/24

VictoriousSummit ofPure and TotalPresence

Pages 12, 13

Chgyal NamkhaiNorbu

Khading Shoklap The Flight of theGaruda

Page 2

Chgyal Namkhai Norbus Introductionto Santi Maha Sangha Teachers TrainingTashigar North, Margarita Island, Venezuela

April 4, 2008

No.91March, April 2008

Tsegyalgar East

Upcoming RetreatswithChgyal Namkhai Norbu

Teaching

Photo: Romain Piro

Good morning everybody. Youknow we are starting our SantiMaha Sangha training today. You

also know that this not only a kind of ex-amination like at the university. It is basi-

cally always related with our teaching. Wewill begin by doing Guruyoga altogetherand then I will explain what we will do.[Gururyoga]I want to welcome everyone. I know manyof you have sacrificed a lot to come here.That means that you also consider SantiMaha Sangha Teachers Training as some-thing very important. People have come toparticipate, so they consider this trainingimportant. Many people dont know thatSanti Maha Sangha is important. SantiMaha Sangha has been created to contin-ue the pure teaching for the future. That isalso why I am trying to make the effort tocontinue Santi Maha Sangha teaching andfor people to learn and do examinations.So it is not only for you, but also for me. I

am alive mainly for Santi Maha Sangha. Itis not that I am very satisfied in this con-fused world. I do know that the DzogchenTeaching is something very important. Iknow in these days many people use some

kind of title or words of Dzogchen andconsider that this is Dzogchen, and thenthey use this as some kind of teaching ofDzogchen. Maybe you know, particularlythose of you who do Santi Maha Sangha,

what I do and transmit each time we do re-treats. The reason I do Santi Maha Sanghais to have a living continuation of thisteaching in this world.

You know very well that we are not onlyin kaliyuga, but we are also in a very con-fused world with so many problems forthe future, particularly for future genera-tions. We know this and then what should

we do? We cannot make a revolution orstruggle to do something; that is not themain point. I have always told you that if

you really understand, you will see that the

Dzogchen Teaching is the unique teach-ing that can really make some contribu-tion to the world. We are always speakingabout and applying the Dzogchen Teach-ing to free our limitations. The problem

is that all politicians, all religions, all or-dinary people are concentrated on fight-ing and struggling with their ego, all theiremotions, etc. If each person can basicallyunderstand and change just a little, thenthere is some benefit for all sentient be-ings. I am very focused on this point andthis knowledge.

There is nothing more important forme than the Dzogchen Teachings. I can-not see any way to continue the DzogchenTeachings if we do not do something likeSanti Maha Sangha. That is the only way Ican see. For that reason, I insist that we goahead with Santi Maha Sangha. It is also

very important that all Dzogchen practi-tioners understand that. I am always doingmy best by working to develop this knowl-

>> continued on page 3

>> continued on page 21

2008USA

New York CityMay 2325The essential Dzogchen teaching of Sangyas

Lingpa according to the Longsal teachingTsegyalgar EastMay 30 June 6The Bardo teaching from Dzogchen Upadesharoot tantra Dra ThalgyurOpen Webcast

June 1315Santi Maha Sangha III Level ExamsJune 1622Santi Maha Sangha IV Level Training

CanadaTorontoJuly 46Dzogchen Teaching Retreat

RomaniaMerigar EastJuly 1420Khordas Rushan from Dzogchen Upadesharoot tantra Dra ThalgyurOpen Webcast

July 2124Santi Maha Sangha Base Level ExamJuly 2531Santi Maha Sangha Level I Training

ItalyMerigar WestAugust 1118The Method of Integration from DzogchenUpadesha root tantra Dra ThalgyurOpen Webcast

KalmykiaSeptember 815The real nature of Ati Dzogchenfrom Dzogchen Upadesha root tantraDra Thalgyur

ItalyMerigar WestSeptember 26October 3Dzogchen Teaching Retreat:Training with the sounds of elements fromDzogchen Upadesha root tantraDra Thalgyur

SMS Teachers, Vajra Dance and Yantra Yoga at SMS Teacher Training Margarita. Photo: A. Bartenstein

Elio Guarisco

The Flight of theGaruda

Page 6


2/24

2

THE MIRROR No. 91 March, April 2008

Good day to everybody. Today we start the teachingcalled Khading Shoglap, which is related with thepractice of Guruyoga. I explained how we should

do Guruyoga yesterday. First of all, we should do Guru-yoga with a white A; that means visualizing a white A in afive-colored thigle in the center of our body and we remain

in a relaxed state. Then we sing the Song of the Vajra andintegrate all our body, speech and mind in that state. Sofirst we do that.

[Practice of Guru Yoga]

The explanation of this teaching is how we should be in astate of Guruyoga. In general, we say we are in the state ofDzogchen tregch, but there are different ways to explaintregch. For example in Dzogchen Semde we explainthe four naljor, or four yogas; and in Dzogchen Longde

we explain the four das. Also in the Dzogchen tregch weexplain the four chogzhag. But chogzhag is not always theprinciple of tregch.

These teachings are about how we achieve tregch, how weapply different kinds of experiences, and different aspects

of our condition. Here when we explain Dzogchen tregch,we are not explaining to the four chogzhag.

In this teaching Shabkar explains the point of view andreal knowledge of Dzogchen tregch; and at the end of hisexplanation he says that he is putting together the essenceof different kinds of instructions of Dzogchen, like theRigpa Cherthong, a teaching from the Shitro of Karmalingpa including the Tibetan Book of the Dead which meansbeing in the naked knowledge of instant presence, whichis a teaching originally taught by Guru Padmasambhava,many written instructions by Longchenpa, and NamchurMingyur Dorjes terma called Sangye Lagchang. Shabkaruses the essence of all these kinds of teachings to explain,because his students can more easily understand. All stu-dents or people interested in the Dzogchen teachings arenot necessarily intellectual. So for many reasons, these

kinds of teachers write and explain in a very simple way.Shabkars way of writing and giving this teaching is likegiving advice to the students. So this is more or less thecharacteristic style of this teaching.

Now we will go into the teaching of Shabkar in a practi-cal way.

Emaho!

Fortunate students listen well! I am going to explain all bysinging this essence of the teaching of DzogchenTregch,

which is the method for overcoming all our past and at-taining the state of total realization.

This famous realization is the state of the Buddha andis always present in all sentient beings in the six lokas. So

that is fantastic because there is no need to search, to goand find it anywhere, because it is alreadythere.

So it is interesting because even though we have total re-alization in ourselves, in general everybody searches out-side, not knowing that it is in ourselves. Just like the sunshining in the sky, even though realization has this qualityonly a few people ever discover it.

So then our real nature of mind, which from the begin-ning is the perfected and illuminated state, unborn and

without having parents; and even though being in sam-sara we have many different kinds of experiences of hap-piness and sorrow, our real nature is not changed by any-thing, whether good or bad. So this real nature of ourmind, without changing or modifying its real quality, ev-ery aspect, is from the beginning self perfected. That isfantastic.

Knowing that our real nature since the beginning is theself-liberated state, with knowledge of this real nature andrelaxing in that state we can have realization of that state.This is fantastic.

So listen again, my fortunate students. All Buddhas ofthe three times taught many teachings. Even though theytaught infinite teachings, in the real sense they are allsolely for discovering our nature of the mind. There is noother aim of these teachings.

For example, if we cut one tree trunk, infinite leaves andbranches start to shrivel and in a moment everything is

dry. For that reason, if we discover what the root of ourmind is, we can overcome all our dualistic concepts.

For example, a house remains one thousand years in thedark; but when we turn on a light in the room, everythingis instantly lit up and we can see all. In the same way when

we discover our real nature of mind, its luminosity andhow its real condition is, we can overcome and purify allobstacles and negativities accumulated over infinite kal-pas.

The real nature of this clarity of mind is like the clear lightof the sun; even though there is the accumulation of dark-ness of many kalpas, it will not become dark. In the same

way, our real nature of the mind has its luminous essenceand even if for many kalpaswe remain in obstacles, thoseobstacles do not become dark.

In the nature of the space, the condition of the sky mani-fests different kinds of colors, different kinds of forms,but they are never conditioned by the space, with light anddark, etc. In the nature of the mind, all good and bad as-pects can manifest infinitely and yet it cannot be condi-tioned by our considerations ofgewaand drigpa, virtue andits opposite, good and bad. That means our real nature isfree from being conditioned by these things.For example, milk is the cause of the production of but-ter, but if we do not churn it and do not add milk, butter isnever produced. In the same way, all sentient beings havethe cause of the tathagata, dersheg nyingpo. But if we do notpractice, then it cannot manifest.

If we practice, everybody can realize. There is no differ-ence between someone having more capacity or less ca-pacity. If someone practices and doesnt know anything,if we discover our real nature, how our real nature is, itsluminosity, then there is no need to learn many logical ex-planations. For example, when we eat sugar or salt, thereis no need to explain, we taste and know the real sense.

If we do not have a real experience or cannot get in thatknowledge, even a Pandita, a very learned person, can be

very far from the real condition; even someone very expertin explaining all the nine vehicles can be just like someone

who is expert in explaining ancient history, because an-cient history is learned from a book and repeated. In thiscase, that person may not really know and may have noexperience of that. In that case, the knowledge of the realnature of Buddha can be very dist ant, in the same way thatthe sky and the earth are very far apart.

If we do not discover or know how our real nature is, it ispossible that we follow moralities for eons, or alternative-ly we apply zpa, patience, etc., for a very long time; and inthis case we are unable to go beyond the condition of thethree worlds. For that reason, it is very important we try todiscover the root of how the real condition of the mind is.

Emaho!

If we do not listen, all my fortunate students, and we donot search for the root of our mind we will discover thatany kind of practice we do will not become important and

will not bring about realization. For example, if you placea target very far away and you shoot from very far and donot hit the target, it is as if you have thieves in your houseand search for them outside; or you keep the bad spirit atthe door of the east and you give torma for drawing bad

spirits away at the door of the west; or a poor man who hasa stone in his kitchen, a stone which is precious and thisperson always has contact with it, but doesnt know and isalways going outside to get money. For that reason, in this

way you should research the real nature of your mind.

What we call the mind seems to be something because wehave thoughts. When we go to find and observe thoughts,they disappear. So you couldnt say there is nothing andeven though you couldnt find anything, immediatelythought arises. Something continually arises. That meansthat when you see something, there is a thought and youobserve it, it disappears and you cannot find anything.Even if you observe a thought arising, it does not remain,it is always changing, modifying. In general, when wehave an experience of happiness or sorrow, everything isbecause of our mind.

So from where do these thoughts arise? You observe, dothey arise from outside, from the mountains, the river, orthe forest? Or do they arise from the wind or the space?Does something exist concretely, or does it not exist?Where does is it come from? You observe and try to dis-cover that.

Alternatively we may think, oh yes, these thoughts comefrom our physical body and the cause is our father andmother. Also we observe how they come. When you areunable to find any place from where they come, you ob-serve them at this moment to see where they are - if thethoughts are related with our physical body, the upperpart, lower part, with our organs of senses, or with our

Khading ShoklapFlight of the Garuda

An excerpt from Day 2March 22, 2008

Photo: Fabio Andrico

Photo: P. Barry


3/24

3


heart, etc. Even if we think they are related to our heart,how are they related? What is the form or color of thethoughts; how are they?

If you cannot find anything, at the end you observe wherethoughts disappear and where they go. See if they go

through our senses or from where they come and wherethey go? So then, are our thoughts related to our physicalbody or our mind? Or are they related with both our physi-cal body and our mind? So we observe all these things.

In the same way, when any kinds of emotions arise, fromwhere do they arise and where are they and how do theydisappear? Even when we are dying then, how are thethoughts going away? All these things we must observeand look well, because when we observe, we can discovertheir real condition of emptiness.

It is not sufficient for someone to say everything is empti-ness. Rather we must search and discover. Then we canreally understand what emptiness means. If someone saysthere is a place where there is a tiger and another personsays that the tiger isnt there anymore, if you do not search

and discover that there is no tiger, you always have thatfear and that idea. For example, if you search and go tothat place, look and discover that there really is no tiger,than you wont have that idea anymore. This is somethingrelated very much with our daily life. Even though manypeople quote Buddha saying that everything is unreal, justlike our life is like a dream, they say they understand thatintellectually but in a practical way, it doesnt work. Sothat is an example. It is very important we apply with expe-rience and discover.

When we say everything is unreal just like a dream, if youare really familiar with your practice of night like a dreamand you are aware in a dream, later when you say every-thing is like a dream then you understand. This is what ismeant by experience.

Emaho!

So still listening my fortunate students, when you exam-ine and search where the mind is, how it disappears andfrom where it emerges, when you cannot find anythingconcrete, then you can say that this is the condition of themind. When you do not find anything, then it means youfind emptiness. When you dont find anything, this is thebest thing.

Since the beginning our mind has no origin, no place fromwhere it comes. So that means that since the beginning itscondition really is emptiness. We are unable to confirmfrom where it comes, where it is now, its form, its coloretc., we couldnt confirm anything about it; and in the end

when it is finished, we cannot say where it went and thereis no remaining trace of what happened.

So then all the movements of the mind are just movementsof emptiness. Already that is emptiness. Even if there aresome things that are like a vision of emptiness, the realnature of the mind since the beginning has no cause ofhow it developed. For example, what is the cause of ev-erything in our relative condition? We can find the causebecause there is its effect. The nature of mind is beyondcause and effect. Although secondary causes in circum-stances manifest different kinds of good and bad, they are

not changing anything regarding the nature of the mind,which always remains the same. There is no developingor becoming bigger or more gigantic or sometimes thendiminishing. Nature of mind is pervaded with our consid-eration of samsara and nirvana. We cannot limit it in any-

way. So we call that beyond any kind of limitation. We

cannot find any example that says that is similar to this.Even when we dont find anything concrete, still its mani-festation is without interruption. It has its movement.

Nothing exists concretely. That means we cannot con-firm existence or non-existence. All thoughts of existingor not existing are our dualistic concepts. When we arein our relative condition, we can have those concepts andalso we can apply them, but the nature of mind is beyondthat. That is the saying, beyond any kind of limitation.

Also nature of mind does not have the characteristicof coming and then going. So you see, when thoughtsarise, we say now thought is coming, now there are nothoughts. Remember, I always explain with the exampleof the mirror. Thoughts are just like reflections in mirror.When there are secondary causes, reflections manifest

in the mirror. But that reflection is not coming from thisobject. That is the secondary cause, only a kind of inter-dependence. Reflections are manifesting because there isthe potentiality of mirror.

Transcribed and edited by Rosemary Friend

edge. For example, there are some important and ancientbooks, but these books are not sufficient. Then you onlyhave ancient books. You need to have a basic knowledge

otherwise these ancient books have no function becauseyou are not able to understand what they are introducingor what they speak of. So this is what we learn and how wego ahead with Santi Maha Sangha training.

Santi Maha Sangha is something very important andwe should give it that importance. Also people should notdo Santi Maha Sangha teachers training thinking they willbecome teachers. Then it becomes a kind of business or

way of living. You should change this kind of idea com-pletely, otherwise it doesnt work and there is no benefit.Santi Maha Sangha is related to your practice; you shoulddeal with it in your life and then you can find its real senseand benefit. So it is very important that we deepen thisknowledge. Some people say, Oh, there is a course ofSanti Maha Sangha. I listened and it is interesting. In-teresting you can find everywhere; sometimes you go toa theater and see something interesting. But it does not

relate to your life and future and the future generations.We must think a little of all these things. That is calledbeing aware. Being aware doesnt mean only in this mo-ment, but how it will be in the future. Most people thinkthe future depends on governments and political parties. Idont agree at all. These things are very relative; for somemoments, one or two years, we can have something likethis. But to have some real benefit, we need evolution andthat is related to our knowledge. We cannot teach or makeeveryone understand. This is impossible. But some peoplelearn and understand and have understood seriously whatDzogchen is. Those people can contribute to society.

Society means many people. That is what we call soci-ety. Society is made up of many people. Many people areindividuals, just like me. I am one of the individuals. I ar-rived in Italy with my small suitcase. There were no stu-dents, no assistants, there was nothing. For many years I

worked at the university. Many people asked me to teach.I said I was not a teacher, and I still felt like a student. Ofcourse, I gave lectures of what I had learned at the univer-sity and also in college when I studied Sutra and Tantra.I mainly taught Tibetan and Mongolian literature. I alsotaught language and did research on Tibetan history. I didmany things, but they were not the main point for me. Themain point for me is my knowledge. I didnt feel that I wasreally a teacher and could give that knowledge. Then I sawthere were so many so-called teachers teaching and goingaround everywhere. I am not saying they were not goodteachers; maybe they were good teachers of Sutra andsometimes of Tantra, but I did not see anyone seriouslyteaching Dzogchen knowledge.

You know that the Dzogchen Teaching is supreme; theDzogchen Teaching is at the end of all teachings. So it issomething very important. I more or less have that knowl-edge. I could not say I have complete knowledge, or very

deep knowledge, but of course day after day I practice,learn, and teach, and I always go deeper and deeper. Thatis true. When I started to teach Dzogchen at the first re-treat at Vesuvio [Italy], the kind of knowledge I had in thatperiod and what I have today are incomparable. I knowthat very well. The knowledge that I have now is integrat-ed. In that period, I could only sayhow to integrate, butdidnt know how to do it. Today I am one of the experts.You can search and listen to those who call themselvesDzogchen teachers; you listen well and try to study withthem. Then you tell me what the difference is betweenNamkhai Norbu and these teachers. Many people in theDzogchen Community do not understand that or it seemsthe same to them a teacher giving Dzogchen teachingsand the Dzogchen teachings of Namkhai Norbu. Theyseem the same to many people. If you find that they are thesame it means you are not integrated. It means you have

no knowledge of Dzogchen. You do not really know whatreal Dzogchen is and what the knowledge and under-standing of Dzogchen is. That is what you should learn,starting with the base of Santi Maha Sangha and then go-ing ahead.

In Dzogchen Santi Maha Sangha there is all my experi-ence and knowledge of Dzogchen. If someone wants tolearn, they can really seriously learn that. That is why Ifeel it is very important. I have already told you that whenI discovered I had cancer and went to the hospital in NYC,at the moment I received the news I thought this was theend of my life. At that moment I checked the informa-tion of how long I would live with the information of myteacher Changchub Dorje and another teacher KhenpoLodro Gyatso, and they both said that the signs of the endof my life arrived at that moment. Then I thought there

was nothing to do and now was the time I would go away.Then I thought I was very sorry that I was not able to fin-ish Santi Maha Sangha. I was not thinking of my children,my family, my wife, my relations, and the Dzogchen Com-munity people, not anyone. It doesnt mean that I do notlove them, but they are in samsara. We are in samsara andour final goal is dying. Now death had arrived for me, sothere was nothing to feel sorry or afraid for. I only felt sor-ry that Santi Maha Sangha was not finished and not only

was it not finished, but when I did the 3rd level trainingssome people created problems. Of course I was very upset,but even though I was upset I could not stop Santi MahaSangha.

Santi Maha Sangha is the only way that I see somethinguseful for the future. When I was in the hospital in NewYork City, I thought of some people in Russia, Australia

and Italy, who had had some illness of cancer and I hadgiven them the practice of Red Garuda or Guru Dragphurto do, for example, and many of them overcame their ill-nesses. I thought maybe there was a possibility to practice

and overcome this illness. Also in my life I have particu-larly done the practice of Mandarava. This is something

very special and I received that special teaching. Then Ithought that with all these benefits, maybe there was apossibility to live a little longer. I wanted to live a little lon-ger to finish Santi Maha Sangha. In my program of SantiMaha Sangha there are nine levels. If I do not finish thenine levels, at least I want to finish seven. That is my de-sire. I am still alive and still working; I am something likedead still alive. You must underst and that. You must notthink this, Oh, Namkhai Norbu is always saying this andhe is still alive.

Life is precious for everyone. It is especially preciouswhen we have knowledge like the Dzogchen Teaching. Wetry and know this and go ahead in the correct way in theDzogchen Community and Santi Maha Sangha.

So now I want to explain a little how we will do the

training and how we have done it until now. We have doneSanti Maha Sangha Teacher Training, Yantra Yoga, andVajra Dance many times and now there are some teach-ers who maintain this teaching and give seminars. We didthat, but it does not mean that it is sufficient. We shoulddo it as much as possible. It does not mean only quantity,but quality. If there is quantity but no quality of teachers,

we do not need this. Teachers must have the correct inten-tion of seriously going ahead to bring the knowledge ofDzogchen Teachings into the future. The principle is notthat we build a house, a Gar or Ling; these things are rela-tive. The principle is that first we need knowledge and un-derstanding. Of course, for understanding we need manysecondary things. You know very well that I make a lot ofeffort to create Gars, like for example, at this moment inRomania. It is not so easy. We need a lot of effort but it willbe important. It is important that we have places for theDzogchen Community.

Also you can see, for example, that we do Santi MahaSangha training when I go to a Gar. I do that only in a Garto make people understand that Santi Maha Sangha andthe Gar are important points for the future for everyone.One day there will be no Namkhai Norbu, but all Gars andpractitioners will not disappear. Maybe there will be manyold people, my students, who have knowledge. They cancollaborate together and learn; they have some basis pre-pared for them to learn. So you see it is important we pre-pare very well. This is the main point of our Santi MahaSangha Training.

Transcribed and edited by Naomi Zeitz

>> Introductioncontinued from page 1


4/24

4


Today is the last day of our Santi Maha Sangha Teach-er Training. You already know how important SantiMaha Sangha training is; I have told you many times

and also explained at the beginning of the training. So thatmeans we should consider it something important. Im-portant means that it is something related to the teach-ing and how the teaching continues. Of course, when wedo Santi Maha Sangha training it means that someone isgoing to teach. That means that the people who are goingto teach must understand very well. It is not that they onlyknow some words from a book, but their knowledge must

be integrated. You see in the teaching and on the path, wesay: tawa, gompaand chpa.Tawameans the understand-ing of our real nature and the knowledge we have received

with the transmission of the Dzogchen teachings. Gompameans application, which is related to transmission, so

we should learn and apply in the correct way. We can-not personally invent things. If we invent things then theteachings will not continue in a pure way.

For this reason, sometimes I ask the teachers how theythink we can continue the pure transmission and teach-ing. The entire lineage since Garab Dorje has kept thetransmission and teaching in a pure way. You rememberin Santi Maha Sangha, in the Rigpai Tselwangin the secondlevel training, it says how you should receive the teaching,how important it is for the teacher to transmit the teach-ings in the correct way, and that means transmitted in thesame way teachers have done historically until today. In the

explanation of the teaching we have very precise indica-tions. For example, it says the student must be somethinglike a stamp, tsa tsaor statue of the teacher. Even if there isone statue multiplied one hundred times, it is always thesame. So students must act in this way and not personallyinvent things. In general, when you explain the teachingsin a personal way, it creates many traditions and schools,etc. In sutra, they do not have this problem because thereare intellectual arguments. You can apply many intellectu-al things, but in Dzogchen we transmit knowledge. Sincethe beginning until today I have introduced the Dzogchenteaching without inventing anything. I follow my teach-ers; I follow Tantra and ordinary Dzogchen teachings. Iam getting old but still today, day after day, I read, learnand apply things in a more correct way. If you consider

yourself my student, then you must learn how I teach andtransmit, how I practice; if we do a practice like a Ganapu-

ja or a short or medium thun, I correct things very often.Maybe that is not as important as communication andDzogchen teachings, but it is also relative.

In the 2nd level of Santi Maha Sangha training it sayschagzhe (phyag bzhes), [ritual tradition], and we cannot ig-nore this. We are still not Mahasiddhas and if you feel likea Mahasiddha, you are wrong. No one is a Mahasiddha yet,not even me. We live in society with our dualistic vision;there is no way to invent anything. If you want to invent,please dont teach, because that is not my teaching. If you

want to teach like me, then you try to teach how I teachand that is how it should be done. This is the guarantee ofthe pure continuation of the Dzogchen teachings. This issomething very important for you to remember.

When you communicate the teaching, you must under-stand the situation of the people. Sometimes people donot explain very clearly and do not speak very well. For ex-ample, Santi Maha Sangha people who are training shouldtry and learn English; English is now an internationallanguage. I am not saying you should speak perfect Eng-lish, but when you communicate you should know how tocommunicate. That it is something important. Also youshould not eat half the words. You should try to explaincompletely and clearly. Some people speak with half anddisappearing words. People cannot understand and when

you give teachings people must understand you. That isthe main point.

Maybe you think you can do Santi Maha Sangha train-ing and it is not very difficult. I told you that these examsare not like the ones in the university. I worked for many

years in the university and I know how to do that kind ofexamination. Our examination is related to tawa, gompa

The Closing Words ofChgyal Namkhai Norbu

Santi Maha Sangha Teacher TrainingTashigar North, Margarita Island, VenezuelaApril 9, 2008

and chpa and that is why I am also asking some ques-tions about how you feel and how you want to be in theDzogchen Community. Also it is related to our chpa; youmust observe yourself and see if your chpa is perfect ornot. If your chpais not perfect, you try to make it perfect.

Thenyou do Santi Maha Sangha training and you can havebenefit.

If you have the idea to go on with your same attitude,it is not good.Tawa,gompaand chpaare all related to ourknowledge of Dzogchen. At least when we do training,and I told you precisely how to manage the time; time is

something important. I did not say to observe the timeapproximately, but precisely. What did that mean? Thatmeant to be present. Our practice in the Dzogchen Com-munity, and the most important point in daily life, is tobe present. You are not present if you do not know howto follow time. Most people are very agitated when theydo the Santi Maha Sangha training. I am not a tiger or alion and there are only some people here from the Com-munity listening. I really do not understand. There is notmuch reason to be agitated so much. Agitation means youhave not integrated what you understand. If you have inte-grated the Dzogchen knowledge, why are you agitated? Indaily life, if you are a good practitioner, you integrate andare not agitated. I have told you many times, I dont knowhow many people really understand my teaching and haveintegrated the teachings into their lives, but in general Ireceive many emails a day speaking of problem number

one, two and three, etc. It seems for some people theirproblems are diminishing. I understand that that meansthey have understood a little something and they have in-tegrated just a little.

So you see, this is an important point. Here in the San-ti Maha Sangha training, we have the 1st and 2nd level.There are 2nd level people here who can give advice aboutthe base and first level candidates. I did not decide alone

who passed and who did not. I asked them to be a kindof committee for the base and 1st level. When I give thesediplomas, if you do not receive one, you did not pass. Youshould not worry if you did not pass. That is not the end.There will be other occasions, but it means you should bebetter prepared, learn better and integrate that knowledgein you. You must manifest that and people who already didthe base level, they should still do seminars for base leveland go a little deeper into the first level by studying, learn-

ing and applying.In that way, we can have such qualifications when we

consider the teachers. If there are no qualifications andthere are many teachers, then we become like the NewKadampa tradition. In the New Kadampa tradition some-one says they want to open a center, and immediately theybecome a teacher. We are not interested in that. Even ifthere is not one single Dzogchen Community, Ling orGakyil, I dont feel at all bad. I am happy if there are manypeople who have knowledge of Dzogchen. That is what isrelated to qualification. I only want only Dzogchen teach-ers of Santi Maha Sangha who are seriously qualified. Ifthey follow me, it should be in a perfect way. You remem-ber this.

Now I will give the diplomas. When you receive this di-ploma, you should remember that now you have becomea base, first or second level Santi Maha Sangha teacher,and you have that responsibility. You remember that anddo everything in the correct way. If you do everything inthe correct way and more people become qualified, thenI am happy, because I know the Dzogchen teachings areimportant and we must help many sentient beings un-derstand them. That is the reason I am happy. You shouldunderstand that. Do not think I am happy, that Nam-khai Norbu is happy, because there are more Communitymembers and more followers of the Dzogchen teachings.That is not my aim, I already told you. Now I will give thediplomas one by one.

Santi Maha Sangha TeachersBase LevelRicardo Sued, ArgentinaAlexander Gomonov, Russia

First Level

Jakob Winkler, GermanyAlexander Pubants, Germany

Second LevelElio Guarisco, ItalyJim Valby, USAIgor Berkhin, Ukraine

Yantra YogaFirst LevelSaadet Arslan, GermanyZsolt Somogyvri, HungaryNaomi Zeitz, USA

Second LevelJohn Renshaw, UKAmare Pearl, Argentina

Victor Krachkovskiy, RussiaZhenya Rud, RussiaGiovanna Conti, ItalyPaula Barry, USAElke Glander, Germany

Vajra DanceFirst LevelEnzo Terzano, ItalyCosimo DiMaggio, ItalyYolanda Ferrandiz, Spain

Second LevelKarin Heinemann, GermanyRita Renzi, Italy

So now we have completed Santi Maha Sangha, YantraYoga and Vajra Dance Teacher Training. In general, theseare the main teachings we apply in the Dzogchen Com-munity. Teachers of Yantra Yoga and Vajra Dance shouldnot concentrate only on the movements and positions or

when you dance, how you pass or put your feet, etc. Whenyou train as a teacher it means you must communicatewith people, and when you communicate, firstly you mustexplain and you need to have that capacity. Many peopledo not have much experience doing this. If you have noexperience, you should try and learn how to communicateand explain. That is important. Secondly, it is very impor-tant that you are patient, because people do not always un-derstand very well. For example, when I give teachings,I explain some points two or three times, but when theteaching is finished someone comes and asks me and Isay, But you didnt listen. That is an example.

Sometimes I know very well it is my fault. When I ex-plain I do not remember all the words perfectly. I need touse some English words. Maybe I know a word better inItalian, but I need to speak English. I dont always remem-ber the spelling, so then I say something roughly, but itis not always complete. I know very well this is not good;but I am missing that capacity because I am not Englishor American. I learned English after I arrived in Italy andat the beginning I learned more Italian than English. Atthat period in Italy only some professors spoke English.Today it is different and many young people learn English.But I am still underdeveloped, and now I am getting old,so it is not so easy for me to learn perfect English and I tryand do my best for somehow explaining. If I do not knowthe precise word and I am explaining and if I rememberthe word in Italian and there is someone nearby, I say the

word in Italian to him or her and ask what to say in Eng-lish. That is an example; this is not your problem but myproblem. So it is very important that you explain well. Youshould concentrate and help people understand what youare saying.

In the world today we have a language called standardlanguage. I will give you an example using the Tibetanlanguage. For example, at one time in Tibet all the peoplestudied and tried to learn the dialect of Lhasa. They con-sidered that dialect to be very elegant and perfect. In thatperiod I met the Dalai Lama, and I felt badly because I didnot know this Lhasa dialect. In Lhasa they have a doublelanguage - the way to speak for a noble person and for anordinary person. I came from East Tibet and we did nothave this system. We know only some words for formingsome polite expressions, and I tried to explain and talk


5/24

5


Zsolt Somogyvri missed the group

photo on page 1. Photo: P. Barry

Photo: M. Alonso

with the Dalai Lama in that way. I felt that he felt very bad-ly. In any case, he understood. Later, not only for speaking

to the Dalai Lama but also for giving lectures in Tibet andChina, since I did not know how to speak the Lhasa dialect,I used a little mixture of the Lhasa dialect and how theyused language in East Tibet. Later when I went to Pekingfor three months to the minority university, I gave teach-ings. Everyday I explained in Tibetan. All the students saidthat my Tibetan language was easy to understand becauseit was a mixture of East and West and literature, etc. I wasnot convinced but then later I understood that inside andoutside Tibet, when they went to lecture, etc., they wouldspeak Tibetan as I spoke it.

That language is called the standard language of Tibet,so you see it is very important to try and help people under-stand when we speak. If you do not understand when I ex-plain, that is my fault, particularly because of my languagesince language is not so easy for me. I have not had verymuch experience, especially with the Western languages.

Still today, for example, if I want to remember the name

of some Westerners, I need a lot of effort. If some peoplesay the name of a Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese, for ex-

ample, I remember the name right away. For Westernersnames and family names, etc., even if I read and repeatthe name twenty times, I still cant remember it. These areour different conditions; you do not have that problem somuch because you live here and do not have to teach Tibet-ans. You teach Westerners. So it is very important that thelanguage is clear and you explain clearly.

Also, people who do Santi Maha Sangha Training, tryto do it in a more correct way. This is what I hope you do.I hope you do not invent anything or do it too much in apersonal way. Otherwise, we will end up like the Kagyupatradition with its four big and eight small sub-schools.Most of these eight schools are students of Pamotrupa,but they do not teach as Pamotrupaexplained and taught.They teach as they have understood and have added theirpersonal way. They succeeded to create eight differentschools. In Dzogchen we do not need anyschool. We only

need the knowledge that was transmitted by Garab Dorje,

or originally from Samantabhadra. So you should try andgo ahead and work in this way, and everything will mani-

fest perfectly. This is what I want to say.

Transcribed and edited by Naomi Zeitz

W

hen Rinpoche explainsthe meaning of the

word Shitro, he says

that Shi means peaceful andmakes reference to the calm state,nepa, represented throughpeaceful manifestations such asthe five Dhyani Buddhas, whereasTro means wrathful and makesreference to the movement state,gyuwa, represented through

wrathful forms like the Herukas.However, the Master clari-

fies, that what is presented in theShitro is not the real Shitro, but

just a symbol. The real Shitro isour condition. All of us, whether

we follow the teachings and re-ceive transmission or not, haveShitro as our nature, althoughnot all of us know it. For thisreason, the Dzogchen teachingspeaks of rigpa and marigpa,the knowledge or the ignoranceof our true nature.

Rinpoche arrived at TashigarSouth at the beginning of sum-mer, with all the energy and joyof this season. This summer par-ticularly could be called the sum-mer of the retreats. The activi-ties of Chgyal Namkhai Norbustarted in Buenos Aires, wherefrom the 15th to 17th of Decem-ber 2007, he gave a talk about

Shitro(The Mandala of our True Nature)Retreat at Tashigar South, Argentinawith Chgyal Namkhai Norbu

February 16, 2008

Sergio Oliva

the Dzogchen teachings. Then inTashigar South, Rinpoche begana long cycle of teachings with the

retreat on The Necklace of theFour Precious Dharmas, a shortteaching of the great masterLongchenpa, that was held fromDecember 27th 2007 to January3rd 2008, and that was transmit-ted through an open webcast.Rinpoche explained that whenspeaking of the four dharmas,Longchenpa made reference tothe four dharmas of Gampopa,that is to say, the four vehiclesof the Buddhist teachings, Hina-

yana, Mahayana, Tantra andDzogchen, and in this way hedeveloped the principle of thesedharmas or teachings.

Later, from January 11th to the17th, after the First Level examsof Santi Maha Sangha, ChgyalNamkhai Norbu led the Train-ing corresponding to the SecondLevel, a genuine retreat during

which the Master gave precise in-structions on Dzogchen Semde.

February started with anotherretreat. From February 1st to 6th,Rinpoche gave essential teachingson Shine and Lhagthong accord-ing to Atiyoga style. In Dzogchenit is explained that lhagthongdoes not arise as a consequence

of having deepened our knowl-edge of shine(as explained in theSutra teachings), but that fromthe very beginning, when we dothe practice of shine, we shouldunderstand what lhagthong is,that is, that our true condition isnot just the calm state but alsomovement. Lhagthongmeans that

we discover this movement withwhich we should integrate.

Also in February, for the firsttime, we had the important visitof Yeshi Namkhai, who was re-

ceived with great joy while hecame in through the main roadof Tashigar South, riding overthe auspicious signs painted onthe ground. During his stay, hegenerously offered his time andknowledge and in various meet-ings, with the Gakyil first and lat-er with the whole Community. Weenjoyed his incredible capacity tokeep us totally engaged with histalk without letting our attentiondecay for a single minute. Whenthe meeting ended, we had thefeeling that he still had much tosay and that if he had gone on, we

would have kept on listening withthe same interest for a long time.

Trying to make the meaningof the document Collaborationand the breadth of his work inthe organization of the DzogchenCommunity more accessible, Ye-shi transmitted his knowledgeand his ideas in a really clear,concrete and precise way.

Among other things, Yeshiexplained that the growth of theCommunity is directly linked tothe level of growth the Communi-ty has in relation to the teaching.Though we have received teach-

ings of a really high level, whenwe apply them in practice ourlevel is very low. For this reason,the Community as an organiza-tion has not developed in corre-spondence to the high level of theteachings. These aspects are inter-dependent, not separate things.Therefore, we should make ourCommunity organization and itsspiritual level grow together, soas not to block each other.

Lastly, the Master ended his cy-cle in Tashigar South with a Ter-

ma teaching of Rigdzin Chang-chub Dorje, Zhitro Kordas Rang-drol, from February 15th to 20th.On the second day, Rinpoche gaveus the initiation related to thisTerma, the only one he received,after insisting, from his root mas-ter, Changchub Dorje. The sameinitiation which we have read somany times in The Crystal andthe Way of Light and that now he

was transmitting to us, a numer-ous group of practitioners fromall over the world getting togetherto receive it. Rinpoche recalled forus many details of that initiation.He especially remembered that af-ter many hours, around midnight,his master finally finished the for-mal initiation. Then, thinking ev-erything was over, Rinpoche wasabout to leave when ChangchubDorje asked him to stay. He askedhis assistant to leave the roomand to close the door and thenthe tnwang, or initiation of thetrue meaning that gives the realprinciple of the initiation, tookplace. Through this, his root mas-ter gave him a precise explanationof the true sense of the initiationand of the transmission.

The following days after theformal initiation, Rinpoche trans-mitted the true meaning with hischaracteristic clear, direct and es-sential way.

The Master pointed out thatwhen we received an initiation,it does not depend on the masteronly, but that those who receive itshould take an active part throughthe three aspects of our existence:body, voice and mind and, aboveall, of the knowledge of our po-tentiality. Actually, both the initia-

tion and the introduction have thesame principle: we should some-how discover our potentiality.

It seems that everything tookplace fleetingly and lasted thetime an ant takes to walk from thetip of the nose to the forehead.However, during that time themaster taught so many things,that he even gave us a class onTibetan Drajyor (Tibetan pho-netics) so that we could learn topronounce words correctly.

Rinpoche left. The rainscalmed down, the voices andbirds too.

It gets dark earlier, autumn iscoming.

If we look back, maybe wecould see this intense summer

we spent with Rinpoche as ahuge practice of Shitro, during

which the Master helped us ex-perience our nature incessantly

while calm followed movementand movement followed calm. Tobe more precise, there was moreactivity than calmness, but this is

just our condition. We all knowthat the wrathful manifestationsare fifty-eight and the peacefulones only forty-two.

Photo: P. Barry


6/24

6


NewsNews

The gardens of Merigar arenow growing here in Vene-zuela! Nursed with care by

Alix de Fermor, beautiful plantsand flowers of many colors havefilled up the Margarita Gar andare a feast for the eyes. The Gar istransforming into something re-sembling the sporting garden ofIndra in the paradise of the thir-ty-three chief gods, foretellingthe harmonious merging of theminds of the Masters students.

A day before the beginning ofthe retreat, from the balcony ofmy room I see an eagle with wings

with white undersides turning ef-fortlessly in large circles, perhapsin anticipation of the teaching ofthe Flight of the Garuda.

In this natural setting on the fullmoon of the 21st of March, Chg-

yal Namkhai Norbu, as joyful andrelaxed as someone just returnedhome from a long journey, gave ashort introduction to the subjectof the retreat, and a concise expla-nation of the short Ganapuja fol-lowed by the practice.

The famous text that Rinpoche

ilucidated is called The Flight ofthe Big Eagle,which, as the authorspecifies in the colophon, appearsto be a condensation of manyessential points on the view,meditation, and conduct foundthroughout important and in-spiring Dzogchen works. Shab-khar, a realized master in the lin-eage of Jigme Lingpa, wrote thetext and it presents the nature ofthe Tregchog practice of total re-laxation.

The following is the little I re-member of what Chgyal Nam-khai Norbu said during the re-treat.

Everything obtained by fol-lowing different kinds of paths,especially the result that many

wish from a spiritual practice,called the three kayasor enlight-ened Body, Voice and Mind, is al-ready present from the beginningin our natural condition. For thatresult to unfold we do not need to

wish for it, nor act on ourselvesin any way, but rather relax andlet that self-perfected conditionemerge.

To illustrate that self-perfectedcondition we use examples suchas space, yet such indicationsare partial and cannot representthe totality of our real condition,

which can only be understoodthrough ones own instant pres-ence.

From which angle can we ap-proach our self-perfected nature

when the outer world seems sooverpowering and our self sosmall compared to it? Whatever

we see, hear, etc., all that we callappearances or vision which we

very much believe in, in reality isa mixture of truth and untruth. Itis untruth because although ap-pearances seem exceedingly real,

The Flight of the Garuda

Retreat with Chgyal Namkhai Norbu

Tashigar Norte, Isla Margarita

March 2126, 2008

Elio Guarisco

when looked into sharply they donot reveal their supposed truth,

which then begins to shake andcollapse. This is what Buddhistscall emptiness. Yet we experi-ence the world we live in con-cretely. This is what Buddhistscall vision. Like the reflection ofthe moon in water, or a rainbowin the sky, untruth does not hin-der the manifestation of whatseems to be true, and vice-versa,and referring to this, the teaching

speaks of vision and emptiness si-multaneously. When this simul-taneity manifests in our mind,the problems we experience indaily life cannot undermine thecourage of our being. Moreover itbecomes a door for the arising ofa spontaneous release of tensionsand blocks, leaving a space ournatural state that is our basicground of being and emerging,again and again.

Because of untruth in appear-ances, what we call conditionedlife or nirvana, on one hand, andhabitual life or samsara, on theother, is nothing but the goal of

spiritual practice three enlight-ened dimensions. The untruthof what we see and experience isthe basic ground of existence ordharmakaya, its energy is the lu-minosity or samboghakaya, andits continuous presence is the nir-manakaya. Perfected without theneed to perfect them, these threekayas are nothing else but themandala or great configura-tion of the three kayasand whenone recognizes this, whats theneed of meditation?

But how do we approach ourreal condition when from with-in ourselves strong waves of the

emotions mount? Accumulationof karma generally follows thesurge of strong emotions, but ifone observes the emotion withoutdistancing even as far as a hairsbreadth from it, without doinganything whatsoever but just

watching the nature of the emo-tion, where it arises from, whereit dwells, etc., then the emotionloses its grip on us. Thus with-out the need to work on emo-tions with an antidote, as it donein the Sutras, or of transformingthem using creative imagination,as done in the Tantras, the emo-tions leave a place for wisdom toarise.

Even if it is not the principleof Dzogchen, at the beginning

when we are still unable to releasethoughts by looking directly intotheir nature, we intentionally ob-serve thoughts with some effortin what is a form of analysis, che-

gom. Release occurring in such away is called cerdrolor liberationupon observing nakedly. Then,

when familiar with this, there isno need to observe intentionallyand as soon as an emotion arisesit dissolves without having estab-

lished any grip whatsoever on us;this is called shardrolor simulta-neous arising and release.

Emotions arise in a contextin which we are aware of theirunreality; thus their simultane-ous arising and unreality is theground where spontaneous re-lease occurs. Also when releaseoccurs there is nothing special tobe happy about, as Garab Dorje

said: Let free whatever arises,just observe it. Even when it re-leases itself, just observe its re-leasing: arising and liberationare not different.

When we are able to do that,then emotions themselves are re-

vealed as the five wisdoms: angeras mirror-like wisdom, attach-ment as the wisdom of discern-ment, jealousy as all- accom-plishing wisdom, prides as the

wisdom of non- duality and igno-rance as the wisdom of the dhar-madhatu. Thus ones emotions,

without the need to seek anoth-er kind of wisdom outside, are

wisdom. They are Vairochana,Akshobya, Ratnasambhva, Ami-tabha and Amogasiddhi, whichare not found anywhere outsidein some constructed mandala,but in ourselves.

Emotions are not the onlythings that condition us: thereare also feelings of various na-tures that follow the sense per-ceptions of forms, sounds, etc.When these arise we can watchthem, and if we perceive theirunreality manifesting simultane-ously with their appearance, then

we can discover the nature ofequality that pervades everything

without distinction. Being a beg-gar living in misery or a king liv-ing in luxury will not make anydifference to us.

Likewise whatever comes tomind is the not able to be foundclarity of instant presence, pri-mordially pure. The surging ofthoughts is the very condition of

what is hidden; it is the energymanifestation of natural instantpresence. So whether our mind iscalm or moving, there is no fun-damental difference, since thesemoods occur within and are ex-

pression of ones natural state.And whatever we experience, see,or think of, is nothing but the

vibrating energy of being in ournatural condition of instant pres-ence.

Having understood the view asones own condition, one needsto have an experience of it, andfor that it is traditionally advisedthat one go for certain periods of

time into solitude and apply thepractice. While to do short termsof personal retreat in solitude iscertainly advisable for all, longerretreats in solitude are not suit-able for our circumstances in theWestern world, and can conflict

with the responsibility we havetoward our family, children, etc.

The circumstances of life inwhich we find ourselves, howev-er negative and evil they may be,do not need to be changed if wecant change them. Many greatrealized beings of the past, suchas the Mahasiddhas, lived by per-forming deplorable and non-vir-

tuous jobs, like being fisherman,bird hunters, etc., and yet theyfound a way to practice and be-come realized even in the midstof what is generally consideredsamsara.

In any case, having becomea good practitioner, one neverreaches the point of being over-come by thoughts or emotions ora given circumstance of life, butremains in a space-like frame ofmind. In brief, when we are notlimited and conditioned by con-cepts and ideas of various kinds,that is the perfect view. When

we have nothing to meditate orconcentrate on, that is the per-fect meditation. When we do notbother to accept something andreject something else, we havethe perfect conduct of Dzogchen.If some idea of what to confirmor negate comes up in our mind,

we notice it and it releases itselfin the vast space it came from.When we know that there isnothing to obtain, that is perfectresult, primordially present.

Such a practitioner has noteven the concept or idea of re-maining in the natural state, and

is not worried about being sleepyor agitated. Transient thoughtshave not the power to influenceone, and with ease one relaxesin whatever situation one findsoneself in. Thus with mind we

can reach what is beyond mindand with effort we cant reachthe state beyond effort. How do

we do then? We do not attempt toadjust ourselves to what we con-ceive as the authentic state, nor

we try to modify our mind in anyway, we do not do any kind visu-alization, we just remain in and

with what is, present and relaxed.This is the best meditation.

Not even instant presence issomething concrete, yet its clari-ty is view, meditation, and action.Self-liberation is the very essenceof presently existing attainment,but is what others consider the

final goal of a long and tortuousspiritual pursuit. The senses andmental consciousnesses movingfreely in their natural disposi-tion, without being conditionedby ensuing judgement this isthe conduct. And to be beyondexpectations and apprehension isto have the result in ones hand.

Like all great rivers and gla-cier waters merging into thegreat ocean, all that which is ex-perienced with the senses, andthought with the mind, is inte-grated in the dimension of space-like reality. Such integration isthe sign of having succeeded in

understanding and applying theprinciples of view, meditation,and action. When we do not per-ceive any distinction existing be-tween present and future, this isa sign of having integrated the

view. When, in any circumstancewe do not conceive of a need of,or of an object of meditation, thisis a sign we have integrated med-itation. When we are not affectedby what we experience, whether itis pleasure or pain, this is a signof having integrated the conduct.We experience the body as a re-flection, the voice as an echo, andall that is perceived by the mind as

a mirage or an illusion. Althoughat the beginning of the practicethoughts gush out like the watersof a turbulent river, later the ex-perience is like the slow flow of abig river such as the Ganges, andat the end the experience is likethe holy place of Gangasara whenthe water of all rivers merge intothe ocean.

In brief, Dzogchen is the onlyteaching that trains the individualto go beyond limitations: no oth-er teaching does. That is the onlyfeasible way to a radical awaken-ing in our life, and awakening ofsociety to a peaceful co-existencebetween human beings. That is

where the importance and rarityof such teaching is.

At the end of the retreat a mealwas offered to Rinpoche, Rosaand all participants at the com-edor and who then enjoyed thesongs, music and dances of hap-py practitioners in the mood ofthanksgiving to Rinpoche. Thusonce again, the great eagle flew

with its imposing presence, pow-erful gaze, and exemplary powerof flight revealing the immensespace of Dzogchen Ati Yoga.

Photo: M. Salvatore


7/24


7

NewsNews

RememberingZerngaRetreat in Lima PeruFebruary 29th 2008

Charo Verastegui

We could hear Rin-poches steps so close.It was almost time for

his arrival. His closeness was likea tsunami. Everybody workedhard, but even so we neededmore help.

Everybody was ready to help. Wemade up teams for everything. Pe-ruvian brothers and sisters weregenerously offering time to col-laborate. The three person Gakyil

was united; one arm would write

to Daniel Simonelli:the Zern-ga books per favore, our sisterPatricia translating to Spanish,more and more people fromabroad registered. We reached80 registrations from all over the

world. There was great expecta-tion in the air!

Finally the day arrived and afterwaiting for him at the airport, welater celebrated after Fabio wasreleased after being retained fora long time in customs. We werelaughing with Rinpoche, westarted off and fuff! We had twoflat tires even before leaving the

airport! It seemed we were nevergoing to arrive. The Maestro waslaughing, we arrived home, andhe was full of energy like a tor-nado.

The days went by. He worked onthe book of translation of a textthat had taken him three years.He only had three more pages togo to finish it.

The day of leap year arrived: Feb-ruary 29th. We set out forESMON,the Center for training in HighAltitude in the Mountains, inthe outskirts of Lima. It seemed

like last years retreat. All lookedthe same and Rinpoche was withus. We were almost 300 people.Then Thunder spoke. What pre-cious teachings!

Nelida Saporiti helped us withtranslation and we didnt missa word. Rinpoche explained thenature of Mind and external phe-nomena, and about his teacherAyu Khandro. He explained howthe practice of Zernga can help

work against attachment, andrefresh the practice for those stu-dents whose practice had becomestagnant.

Rinpoche also explained howthat practice is a requirement forYantig retreat. So much love inevery sentence! Then he spokeabout each element we are madeof: air, water, earth, fire, space,how to work disintegration ofthe body and the element untilonly the A remains in open space.He then explained three different

ways to discover Instant Pres-ence through Emptiness, Clarityand Sensation. Rinpoche has themost incredible tools in his infi-nite wisdom.

Teachings alternated with laugh-ter and games in the pool. Theglorious Mandala dance withNelida, Yantra with Fabio withMarisa as helper, the team of AsiaOnlus headed by Milagros, theevening lessons for newcomers,the Dharmashop which Monicaand the Sangha prepared so ear-nestly, Nanu in the Atibar dancing

and laughing and serving deli-cious Pisco chilcano.

There was an absolutely enchant-ing evening. On the day previousto the end of the teachings, wegave Rinpoche a small surprise.We all went to the soccer courtand a show started. It was Yuy-achkani, the most prestigioustheatre group in our country.They did a dance with devils that

was very amusing and then we

had some songs. Our sister Clau-dia sang La vita Bella, andthen spontaneously Paul sangand Pepo surprised us with hisicarado song (jungle music).

Then there, the final act. Try-ing to emulate a Ganachakra webrought in two enormous cakes:one had the edible picture ofPadmasambhava in yab yum with

Yeshe Tsogyal, and the other, thebeautiful face of the Great oneand we ate him!

The sincere and spontaneouscomments of the foreign broth-ers were so beautiful! We hadloads of them, that they hadnever attended such a beautifulspontaneous retreat, that Mae-stro looked so happy, that they

would come to the next retreat,so beautiful.

Then we took him back to hisbungalow. He was going in, buthe stayed at the door, grabbed achair, smiled at the moon, tookout his flute and began playing.What delight! And we were three,then eight: he was telling storiesLets see what do you want me totell you, asklove stories? Whatdo you want to know? and then

stories flowed. And what stories!We were twenty, forty, fifty, sixtystudents. Maestro, you have tosleep, it is late. Fabio stared atus but Rinpoche carried on untilearly in the morning with all en-chanted at his feet like old times.The next day he said, That wasa magic evening which shouldnthave ended. We dont always havean evening like that.

Well we are in Samsara!

Maestro, this is your home, thankyou for your infinite compassion.We are always at your feet, listen-ing to your web casts when weare not near. We are at your feetin the Sacred Guru Yoga. Come toPeru, our hearts await you.

rags and accompanied by an as-sistant, to whom he had given alot of gold, he fled to Ramesh-

vara, the city of King Rama.There he abandoned his soft silkcushion and used a rough one in-stead and no longer slept in theroyal apartments but in the ash-es. But anyway he was so attrac-tive and handsome that everyoneoffered him food and he neverlacked what he needed to live on.

One day the prince decided togo to Bodhgaya where the Daki-nis took care of him and gave himsecret teachings. Then he went toSaliputra, the residence of kings,

where he nourished himself onthe food people offered him andchose a cemetery as his home.One day he went to the marketand entered a tavern. The land-lady, the owner of the tavern, wasa worldly Dakini and as soon asshe saw the prince she thought toherself, That man has complete-ly purified the four chakras but

there is still an obstacle the size ofa pea in his heart: it is the opinionhe holds of his social position.The Dakini put some rottenfood into a clay bowl and of-

fered it to him. The princethrew it away. The Dakini gotangry and said, You still needto discriminate between goodfood and bad food; how can

you receive Dharma teachings?In that moment the prince un-derstood that concepts and theirdualistic distinctions are ob-

stacles to total realization andhe freed himself from them.During the following twelve yearsof practice Luipa fed on the en-trails of fish that fishermen threwinto the Ganges. When the girls

who sold fish saw him eating fishinnards they called him Luipa.He became famous as Luipa ev-erywhere and with that name heattained total realization. Therest of his story can be found inthe life story of Dengipa and ofDarika, the man of the prosti-tutes.

Luipa the Yogi who fedon fish entrailsReprinted with permission from The Merigar LetterTranslation from the Tibetan by Elio Guarisco(this translation has not been published yet)English Translation by Nina Robinson

Once there was a king whohad three sons. He wasas rich as the son of Ku-

bera; his palace was decoratedwith jewels, pearls, silver andgold.

When the king died an astrol-oger was consulted to establish

which of his three sons shouldinherit the kingdom. The as-trologer did his calculations andthen said, If the second son sitson the throne the people will behappy and the kingdom will besecure.

Thus it was decided to entrustthe kingdom to the second son.The older brother and the young-er brother and the subjects of thekingdom crowned him king, buthe did not want this. He tried toescape but his brothers and hissubjects tied him up with goldenchains.

The prince bribed the servantsand guards with gold and silverand during the night, dressed in

Rinpoche at the performance if the Yuyachkani Theater Company. Photo: Luis Chiang Chang-Way


8/24

8


SASIA

Dear ASIA friends

In these dramatic days for the Ti-betan people we are writing to

you to share our reflections andworries and to update you on thesituation of the schools and ourprojects.

The Tibetan areas of China areundergoing nowadays a tragedyof a dimension not seen since1959.

In 1988, exactly 20 years ago, ASIA

was founded with the aim of im-proving the social and economiccondition of the Tibetan peopleand to protect and transmit those

values of spirituality, peace, re-spect for the environment and al-truism which are a feature of thatprecious culture.

Working in this region meansworking in a culturally oppressedcountry, where the resentment of

young Tibetans towards the Chi-nese is much in evidence. Our aimhas always been to improve theeconomic, social and culturalconditions of young Tibetans

and to try to create for them workand development opportunitiesequal to those available to youngHan Chinese, without any politi-cal involvement.

Over these 20 years, thanks to thesupport of many of you, we havebeen able to create 15 schools, 10hospitals, 8 colleges for Tibetanstudies; we have given support tomore than 3.000 schoolchildren,monks and nuns; we have distrib-

uted animals, food and medicineto the nomads, hit by the naturaldisasters in the remoter regionsof Amdo, Kham, and in the Au-tonomous Tibetan Region.

At the moment of writing we havelocal and expatriate ASIA staff

working throughout the Tibet anterritories: in Xining, capital ofthe Chinese Province of Qinghai;in Derge, province of Sichuan;in Chamdo and in Lhasa in theTibetan Autonomous Region,and we keep constantly in touch.

We are also in contact in China,India and Nepal, with local ASIAstaff working in schools that arebeing supported under the longdistance sponsorship project andthey have told us that the situa-tion is under control even if con-ditions vary from region to re-gion.

Today more than ever we believethat the presence of internationalorganisations in the Tibetan ar-eas of China is fundamental tocontribute to alleviate the suffer-ing of the Tibetans and protect

this precious Cultural Heritage

We feel it is important to help thelocal people to feel they have oursupport, and so we have decidedto stay in these areas to representcivil societies and the entire in-ternational community whichbelieves in the values of peaceand reciprocal respect.

We are convinced that peacefulcoexistence is possible but only

Tibetan Medicine inAmerica 2008June 13th15that Amherst College

A historic symposium featuringkeynote speaker Chgyal Nam-khai Norbu, speakers from theAmerican Tibetan Medical Asso-ciation and Tibetan doctors fromaround the world.

All symposium sessions arefree and open to the public, and

will be held at Amherst College,in Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather.

Speaker ScheduleFriday, June 13

Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather, Am-herst College, 4:30PM

Welcoming remarks by ProfessorPaola Zamperini, Department ofAsian Languages and Civiliza-tions, Amherst College

Opening remarks,Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo

Keynote lectureby Chgyal Namkhai Norbu

Saturday, June 14

Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather910:30AMDr. Yang Ga The Historic Rootsof Medical Knowledge in Tibet

10:45AM12:15 PMDr. Kunchok Gyaltsen Under-standing the Basis of the TibetanHealing Science

23:30 PMDr. Tenzin Darje and Dr. Phunt-sog Wangmo PreventativeMeasures and Practical Applica-tions of Tibetan Medicine

3:455:00PMDr.Tenzin Dakpa and Dr.Chimed Rabtan Modern DayStudy and Practice of TibetanMedicine in Tibet and India

Sunday, June 15

Pruyne Hall, Fayerweather910:30 AMDr. Chodying Phuntsog andTashi Rabten Tibetan Medicinein America

10:45 AMNoon

Concluding RemarksDr. Yang Ga, Dr. Kunchok Gyalt-sen, Dr. Tenzin Darje, Dr. Chody-ing Phuntsog and Tashi Rabten

Moderators: Dr. PhuntsogWangmo and Professor PaolaZamperini, Department of AsianLanguages and Civilizations,Amherst College

Sponsors

Sponsored by the American Ti-betan Medical Association; theDepartment of Asian Languagesand Civilizations, the Deans Of-fice, the Hamilton Fund, the Pres-idents Office, and the TagliabueFund, Amherst College; and bythe International Shang ShungInstitute.

For more informationcontact the Shang ShungInstitute at (413) 369-41 [email protected]

if it is based on respect for diver-sity and on a strong awareness ofeach others cultural roots.

We would like to thank you foryour precious support and willcontinue to keep you up to date.

We are sure that you will not letus down, now more than ever, inresponding to the requests foraid and solidarity which come

from the Tibetan people in thesetormented times

Andrea DellAngeloDirector ASIAOnlus

ASIA OnlusVia S. Martino della Battaglia 3100185 Rome, ItalyTel: 06-44 34 00 34www.asia-onlus.org


9/24


9

SeitenberschriftSeitenberschrifthang Shung Institute

Shang Shung Institute

The international Shang Shung

Institute wants to give you an up-date of the information regard-ing the shops of the SSI. The pos-sibility to purchase any of ourproducts offered in our shops isonly given to members eitherto members of the DzogchenCommunity or to members of theShang Shung Institute.

A. Members of the Dzogchen

CommunityActual members of the DzogchenCommunity can chose from allour products.

In order to be able to buy re-stricted materials (books, CDs,

MP3s, etc.) of Chgyal NamkhaiNorbu in one of our shops1. One must have received thetransmission of Chgyal Nam-khai Norbu (depending on theTeaching either the transmission

Shang ShungInstitute USADear Friends,The Shang Shung Institute ofAmerica is happy to announcethe 2008 Calendar for SummerIntensives and Events, and thebrand new California Kunye Mas-sage Therapy Program.

SSI features special guestteachers from around the world

who offer valuable intensivecourses in Tibetan medicine. Thefollowing summer classes will beheld at Tsegyalgar, the seat of theShang Shung Institute of Amer-ica, 18 Schoolhouse Road, Con-

way,MA01341. Courses are opento the public, unless otherwisenoted, and pre registration is en-couraged. For more informationor to register, please visit us atthe USABranch website:http://www.ShangShung.orgor contact us by phone at (413)369-4928, and by email [email protected]

Special Event:

Medicine Buddha Empowerment,June 1st, 56 pmChgyal Namkhai Norbu has verykindly accepted the Shang ShungInstitute of Americas request

to give a Medicine Buddha Em-powerment, to promote healthand well being among practi-tioners and in honor of the four

year traditional Tibetan medicineprogram. The Medicine Buddhaempowerment will occur duringRinpoches retreat scheduled forMay 30thJune 6th, 2008 at Tse-gyalgar East, Conway,MA.

Tibetan Moxibustion with guestinstructor Dr. Tanzin Dargye

June 7th 9th, 2008Fee: $ 225The Tibetan Healing Science Tan-tras list moxibustion as one ofthe strong external therapies.Moxibustion treats disease byapplying heated herbs, oils and/or minerals to specific externalpoints on the body.

Tibetan Medicine Symposium withDr. Phuntsog Wangmo and keynoteaddress by Chogyal Namkai NorbuRinpoche

June 13th 15th, 2008

Mental Illness, Health of Body,Mind and Spirit in TibetanMedicine with guest instructorDr. Konchog Gyaltsen

June 17th- 19th, 2008Fee: $ 150

This course will explore the inter-dependent relationship betweenthe body and mind, and the manyfactors which contribute to our

mental health and illness.

Tibetan Kunye Therapy Level I with resident instructorDr. Phuntsog Wangmo

June 25th 29th, 2008Fee: $ 380Kunye Therapy is the traditionalsystem of gentle external treat-ments taught in the Tibetan Heal-ing Science Tantras. The function ofKunye Therapy is to soothe andrelax tensions, balance the ele-ments of the body, and therapeu-tically relieve many ailments. Ku-nye Therapy includes massage,treating crucial points, medici-nal oils, gemstones, hot and coldstones and compresses, medici-nal vapors and baths.

Tibetan Kunye Therapy Level II with resident instructorDr. Phuntsog Wangmo

July 17th 20th, 2008Fee: $ 380Kunye Therapy Level II exploresthe techniques indicated for bothhealthy and sick people includingmassage, treating crucial pointsrelated to the internal organs,the properties and applications

Information about the webshopsof the Shang Shung Institute

Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo gives a Ku Nye Treatment. Photo: Laila ReissPhoto: Laila Reiss

of the actual practice or the trans-mission of Guru Yoga), and2. One has to bean actual memberof the Dzogchen Community.

Precious and unique Teach-ings and instructions of our Mas-

ter on how to do the practice arethe topic of all restricted materi-als. With your membership in theDzogchen Community you show

your respect towards the Teach-ings and the Master. For becom-

ing a member of the DzogchenCommunity please contact yourlocal Gakyil.

B. Members of the Shang ShungInstituteMembers of the Shang Shung In-stitute can get all products thatare not restricted like severalproducts of the Tibetan Medi-cine, various books, CDs, MP3s,etc.

With the membership in theShang Shung Institute you show

your interest in the preservationof Tibetan culture and supportour various activities.

Here you can download a textabout the membership in theDzogchen Community, on the

website of the Shang Shung In-stitute you find more informa-tion about the membership in theInstitute.

Thank you for your attention,Luigi Ottaviani, Oliver Leick,

Paola Zamperiniwww.shangshunginstitute.org

of medicinal oils, hot and coldstones and compresses. KunyeMassage Level I is a prerequisite.

California Tibetan Kunye Therapy250 & 500-Hour CertificationCoursesThe courses will be taught by theShang Shung Institutes residentphysician and head instructor,Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo, and heresteemed colleague Dr. KalsangYangdron of the American TibetanMedicine Association (ATMA).

Course Dates and Times:

Basic Level: July 30th Septem-ber 10th 2008 (250 hours)

Advanced Level: January 5th February 16th 2009 (250 hours)Daily session times: Monday-Friday 8:30am-12:30pm, and2:00pm6:00pmCourse Tuition:

Basic Level course: $ 2500.00Advanced Level course: $ 1000.00Course location:

The course will be held in Berke-ley, California, at the center forthe International DzogchenCommunity, West Coast, USA:Dondrubling2748 #D Adeline St, Berkeley,

CA94703

information and registration byphone: 413 369 4928 or email:[email protected] us now for our early-

registration discount!

Visit our brand new website atShangShung.org for more in-formation about Kunye Therapy,Tibetan Medicine, and all theexciting courses and events of-fered by the Shang Shung Instituteof America. At ShangShung.org,

you now can register for inten-sives, programs, pay for member-ships, give donations and ordera multitude of wonderful itemsfrom our bookstore, including afull selection of Chogyal NamkaiNorbu Rinpoches books, CDs,and DVDs.

Contact

[email protected](413) 369-4928 for more infor-mation and to register.


10/24

SeitenberschriftSeitenberschrift

10




Background

Moxa and Tibetan tradi-tional medicine are veryancient systems that

also existed in the pre-Buddhistperiod. Two ancient books foundamong the Tung Huang docu-ments, which originally camefrom the Shang Shung Kingdomin Western Tibet, substantiatethat.

Later, Traditional Medicine de-veloped very much in Tibet.Ayur-veda and Chinese medicine alsoinfluenced the emergence of a

very homogenous and complete

system of Tibetan medicine.There are five main kinds of

external therapies, which are al-ways applied in Tibetan medi-cine: bloodletting, moxa, medicalbaths, compresses, and massage.A detailed list would includetwenty special therapies usefulfor curing various illnesses thatare neither heavy nor dangerousand are effective and easy to ap-ply. Among these various thera-pies moxa is considered very im-portant, because it can cure ill-nesses that cannot be cured inother ways.

MoxaAlthough moxais a form of ther-apy originally found in Tibet,China, and Japan, nowadays it isknown in all parts of the world.Moxa is most effective when ap-plied in colder climates, so it hadfertile ground for development inTibet. Aside from being a generalcure for many illnesses, it is veryuseful for relieving pain and re-storing vital energy.

Moxais applied to general andspecific points of the body. Thegeneral points are those wherean illness manifests an illness orproblem. The specific points are

those explained in moxa manu-als. Although many moxa andacupuncture points correspond,it is not always the case becausemoxadoes not exactly follow thesystem of meridians particular toacupuncture.

In Tibet and Mongolia arough form of moxa was oftenperformed with a heated metalinstrument. This type of moxa,

which is indispensable for somekinds of illness, needs to be ap-plied by a knowledgeable physi-cian and not just by the commontherapist.

During Rinpoches last visit toChina, he had a dream in whichhe met someone who explainedto him very clearly that the appli-cation of this rough form of moxa

was not always necessary andthat there were other very effec-tive ways of applying moxa, suchas using the small Japanese tubesor the Chinese sticks.

From that dream Rinpocheunderstood that moxa does notneed to be applied as tradition-ally done in Tibet, but could betaught and applied more freely

without having the qualifications

A Unique Moxa Systemof Chgyal Namkhai Norbu

Elio Guarisco

of a doctor or an experiencedpractitioner.

Chgyal Namkhai NorbusExperience with Tibetan MedicineWhen Chgyal Namkhai Norbu

was studying Buddhism at theSakya college in Eastern Tibet,his teacher Khyenrab Ozer, who

was also a physician, taught himthe Four Medical Tantras.

Upon the completion of hisstudies, Rinpoche went to aKhamding or Dartsendo, a bor-der town between China andEastern Tibet. There he spent

more than two years as a teacher.At that time, Kangkar Rinpoche

was also residing there and teach-ing at the same school. WhenChgyal Namkhai Norbu cameto know that Kangkar Rinpocheheld the transmission of the FourMedical Tantrasthat came throughthe great Kongtrul, he requestedthat from him.

Although Chgyal NamkhaiNorbu had thoroughly stud-ied the Four Medical Tantras twiceand gained a general theoreti-cal knowledge of Tibetan medi-cine, he still lacked practical ex-perience. When he later met the

Dzogchen master ChangchubDorje, Rinpoche told him thathe had studied the Four Medical

Tantrastwice. Upon hearing that,Changchub Dorje responded,Good! You learned medicineintellectually, now you shouldpractice it. You should work withmy students. Changchub Dorjehad three students who were

very good in the practice of moxaand bloodletting. Practicing withthem day after day, Rinpochequickly learned their methodsand benefits and began to applythese techniques upon the manypatients who came to visit Chang-

chub Dorje daily.

Chgyal Namkhai NorbusResearch on Moxa After collecting and comparingmany Tibetan texts on the subjectof moxa, Chgyal Namkhai Norbuchose the seven most importantones, including a document fromTun-Huang and a hidden teach-ing rediscovered by his masterChangchub Dorje. From thesehe made a compilation of themoxa practice that includes thedescription of more than 3000

moxa points and their respectivebenefits. This is still an ongo-ing project and he hopes one dayit will be completed. But eventhough his research is not com-plete, Rinpoche thought it wouldbe useful to prepare a book sum-marizing this information forpeople who wish to study and useit now. Thus an abbreviated ver-sion entitled the Clear Crystal Mir-ror, A Concise Guide on the Practice of

Moxa has been prepared, and atranslation will soon be availablethrough Shang Shung Editions.It is written in a simple style andis a compilation of 500 different

points with an explanation oftheir therapeutic benefits.

By studying this book inter-ested people can deepen theirknowledge, learn how to applymoxa in a safe and effective way

and benefit themselves and oth-ers.

The Moxa Course Rinpoche orally transmittedparts of his newly compose textthe Crystal Mirror in Crimea andat Merigar in the year 2005 andgave the complete transmissionin Isla Margarita in the year 2006.In the year 2007, Chgyal Nam-khai Norbu was taking a drive

with his wife Rosa at Merigar 2.I met him along the road and helowered his window and askedme if I would be willing to teachhis system of moxabased on the

new book he had prepared. Hesaid that we should first holda moxa course at Merigar Westand then at the other Gars of theDzogchen Community. AlthoughI hardly feel qualified for this re-sponsibility, due to some famil-iarity with the subject that I haveacquired throughout many yearsof translation for and collabora-tion with older Tibetan doctors, Ifelt I could not refuse Rinpoches

wish and accepted. Rinpoche lat-er specified that he wanted me tocomplement the moxa explana-tion with an explanation of ad-ditional therapies used in tradi-

tional Tibetan Medicine, such ascupping and compresses. Withthe intention to make this sys-tem of moxabustion known andavailable to the members of theDzogchen Community and to

whomever wishes to apply moxa-bustion for their own and othersbenefit, we started to organizecourses in moxabustion, the firstof which was held at Merigar inFebruary and March 2008.

The course consists of threelevels spread over three week-ends in which the 500 moxabus-tion points are introduced along

with their benefits and additional

therapies are explained and ap-plied. The rough schedule forthis course is as follows:

The Three Levels of Training inTibetan MoxabustionAccording to the Tradition ofChgyal Namkhai Norbu

First Weekend First LevelFirst Day:Morning: General introduction to the

practice of moxabustion Methods for preparing arte-

misia for moxabustion Illnesses for which moxa-

bustion is indicated Illnesses for which moxa-

bustion is not indicated Points on the body where moxa-

bustion is not to be done

Afternoon: Moxabustion points indicated

by an illness Moxabustion points to be lo-

cated by measures Measures used to determine

moxabustion points Four different methods of ap-

plying moxabustion

Norms to be followed aftermoxabustion

Benefits of moxabustion Reference books for the Clear

Crystal Mirrormanual of moxa-bustion

Second Day:Morning: Location of 80 moxabustion

points on the central part ofthe back

Therapeutic benefits ofapplying moxabustion on the80 points

Training in recognition of the80 points

Afternoon: Method of applying moxabus-

tion on the 80 points of thecentral part of the back

Training in applying moxabus-

tion on the 80 points of thecentral part of the back

Moxabustion points on thecervical vertebrae

Introduction to the threehumors of Tibetan Medicine

Third Day:Morning: Bodily location of the three

humors Characteristics of the three

humors Location of the 74 moxabus-

tion points on the lateral partof the back

Therapeutic benefits of apply-

ing moxabustion on the74 points


Afternoon: Symptoms of the imbalance of

the three humors Training in applying moxabus-

tion on the 74 points of thelateral part of the back

Seven types of humoral consti-tutions

Second Weekend Second Level

First Day:Morning:

Location of 65 points on thecentral forepart of the body

Therapeutic benefits of apply-ing moxabustion on the65 points


Afternoon: Causes for the imbalance of

the three humors Training in applying moxabus-

tion on the 65 points of thecentral forepart of the body

Diet and behavior for the im-balance of the three humors

Second Day:Morning: Location of 30 points on the

lateral forepart of the body Therapeutic benefits of apply-



Afternoon: Moxabustion with wood,water, salt, calcite

Training in applying theseform of moxabustion on the 30

points of the lateral forepart ofthe body

Introduction to other tradition-al external therapies of Tibetanmedicine: massage, compress-es, medical baths etc.

Third Day

Morning: Location of the 81 points of the

head Therapeutic benefits of apply-



Afternoon: Training in applying moxabus-

tion on the 81 points of thehead

Explanation of the moxa-bustion practice of the Golden

Needle Training in applying the moxa-

bustion practice of the GoldenNeedle

Third Weekend Third Level

First DayMorning: Location of the 84 points of the

arms and hands Therapeutic benefits of apply-

ing moxabu

themirror 91

Documents