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THE MIRRORNewspaperof the InternationalDzogchen Community May/June 1999-IssueN o. 49

Schedule ofCHGYAL N A M K H A I NORBU for 1999-2000

1999

EUROPE

July7-11 MerigarRetreat, ItalyJuly21-25 Kunsangar Retreat, Russia

USA +MEXICOJuly30 - Aug 1 New York City RetreatAug 4-8 Tsegyalgar Retreat, Conway,MassachusettsAug 13-15ChicagoRetreatAug 20-22 Houston, TexasAug 27-29 SantaFe, NewMexico

Sept 9-12 TaraMandala,ColoradoSept 17-19MexicoSept 23 SanFranciso,CaliforniaSept 24-28LakeTahoe,CaliforniaOctober 8-10 Portland, OregonOct 15-17Malibu, CaliforniaOct 27-31Hawaii

NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA

Dec 3-5 New ZealandDec 10-12 Sydney,AustraliaDec 26-Jan 2 Namgyalgar Retreat

2000

Jan 14-16 Brisbane RetreatJan 21 -23 Cairns RetreatFeb 4-6AdelaideRetreatFeb 11-13 Melbourne Retreat

SANTI MAHA SANGHA IN

NAMGYALGAR, AUSTRALIA

Mar 3-5 SMS BaselevelexamMar 6-91st leveltrainingMarl7-19 SMS 1stlevelexamMar 20-24S MS 1stleveltrainingMar 25-26S MS levelII examMar 27-31 SMS levelIII training

April 19-23 Easter Retreat, Namgyalgar

SINGAPORE&JAPANApr 28-30 Singapore RetreatMay 6-7TaipeiRetreatMay 13-14Kaoshiung RetreatMay 19-21TokyoRetreat

Further Information see pages3,10-14

Meetingat theMerigar Gonpa L. GRANGER

M E R I G A R HOSTS

V E S A K C ELEB R A TIO N S

by LizGranger

Over the last weekend inMay, the MerigarDzogchen Community wasthe venue for theVesakcelebrationsheldon the anniversary of the Buddha's birth,awakening and parinirvana.The event was organized incollaboration with the Italian BuddhistUnionand participants included bothmonks and nuns, as wellas

lay people from theVajrayana,Zen, Theravadaand Chan traditions. Thetheme of the meeting wasentitled,"Monks,nuns andlay peopleon the Buddhist Path".

The Italian BuddhistUnion (U.B.I.),founded in 1985 by Buddhistcentersbelonging todifferent traditions wasofficially recognized as areligiousorganization in 1991. Associated withthe European BuddhistUnion,it includes thirtytwo Dharmacentersfrom various Buddhist spiritualtraditions such as Theravada,Zen, ChanandVajrayana.Eachyear theU.B.I,organizes theVesakcelebration as an opportunity for its members tomeet.

Duringthe warm sunnyMay weekend The Temple of GreatLiberationor the GreatFlowerwas hostto more thanthreehundred-fifty Buddhists, bothlay people andmonksfromall parts ofItaly,the various traditions identified by their coloredrobes - the Theravada monks swathed inochre, theZen monks and nunsin stiffgrayandblack,theVajrayanamonksinthe morefamiliarmaroon andyellow. Aftera welcomeon behalfof ChgyalNamkhai Norbuand the President oftheU.B.I.,ElsaBianco,onFridayafternoon,activitiesgot underway witha roundtable discussionon thethemeof the meeting. In the evening the film,"Kailash,the SacredMountain"wasshown:adocumentary ofChgyalNamkhaiNorbu's pilgrimage to the sacred mountain in 1988accompaniedby alarge groupof his students.

On Saturday morning four sessions of teachings were given consecutively at the Gonpa byMaurizioMissimi,Prof. Corrado Pensa, Master EugakoTainoandChgyalNamkhaiNorbu.Duringthe afternoon, a series of guided meditation sessions were held by practitioners of thevarious traditions at the Gonpa while the spiritual headsof the differentcentershad an officialpublicmeetingwiththe Prefect and theMayorofArcidossoinArcidosso.This was a sessionwhichwas open to thelocalpublicand a moment of interaction betweenMerigarin the personof ChgyalNamkhaiNorbualongwithhisguestsand the localauthorities.After the officialspeeches,therewas alivelyquestion and answer session.

On Sunday morningwhilethe guided meditation sessions continued at theHallof theMandala,therewas an explanationgivenintheGonpaofthe variousfigurespaintedon the surrounding panels. At midday, the closing ceremony was held inwhicheach spiritual tradition heldprayers,in Pali,inTibetan andinJapanese.Thefinaldedication of the weekend in Italian was awishforpeacethroughout theworldand the universe.

Everyonewho attended theVesakcelebration really appreciated the way inwhichthe eventwas organized andwouldliketo express their gratitude and thanks toallthe peoplewho collaboratedto makethiseventasuccess.

K A L I Y U G A ,

W A R A N D P RA CT I CE

by SlavicaYoglar

Earlyin the morning, I take a look at thewatch,eight o'clock, whatkindof day isahead of us? Three days already withoutwater, and mostly withoutelectricity.Ispentthe whole day yesterday withfriends in theirgarden, barbecuing, trying to use up the foodfrom our freezers fast.

Sharing it. Still, the day was ugly and

rainy; luckilymy friends have a nice verandah.Manly talks about the disappearance ofthe just, knightly fight, face to face. We arebeing attacked treacherously, from the sky,feeling completely helpless. One doesn'tknow when, where it will hit. Listening totheir stories, I have understood thatKaliyugais already quitepresent.It is pointless to thinkabout the past and future time, withoutthought, Iwillrelax, try tofindmyself in thestateofcontemplation,A .

Imust go and buy food. I gowithmy dogto a shop, we have 348 stairs ahead of us, Ili ve on 23rdfloor.Ithink,ifthewar continues,Iwilllooklike CindyCrawford.In frontof theshop, there is a line of some thirty people,waitingfor bread andmilk.I spot a neighbor,talkingover the mobile phone, the image isunreal, on the threshold of the 21st century.The neighbor startsto explain to me whichbuildings were destroyed in the night, howmany dead, etc.

I wait forhalfan hour, and as soon as Idecide togiveup, the bread arrives.Theygiveonlytwo loaves each, andIgo to anotherstoreto get water and mincedmeat;the cash boxdoesn't work and everything is calculated onpaper. I buy newspapers, and see a big title,"Patients endangered in hospitals, machinesfor dialysis out of work." What is it like towatchthe machinewhichgives you life,butdoesn't work? Compassion, contemplation.A. Iclimbup tomyflat, passing byold peoplewho rest between the floors. My dog isexhausted, he isold, helooksup tome asking,

"Whatishappening?"How longarewe goingto do it? It is too complex to explain thecollective karma tohim. Ioften talkwithmy dog.My daughter is expecting me, she is happy tosee the warm bread. There was no bread yesterday.

Idecide to go downtown to do somethingabout the bookIamwriting.Itis aboutdivinationusing 41 symbolic pebbles; I have beenworkingon it for years, and the main point isin the chapterwhichexplains apossibilitytosee thestateof death and thestateof mind,thepath of thoughts inthatmoment. Apart frommy children,Iconsiderthisbook an importantpersonal act.You probably wonder whether Iwas able to predict war?Well, I did see itclearly two days before it happened. I wasveryupset,but at thesametime I understoodthatthe information couldn't be shared withanybody, because people simply wouldn'ttake me seriously. Now I ask people aroundme, whether they thought thatit might reallyhappen.Almost99% answer, no.

On the way to the bus, Ihear sirens fordanger, whichmeanswe should go into theshelter, taking water and food withus. Ourshelterisnotfunctional,sowe act as if we didn't have one; also, in shelters, people maypanic; the dogs are notallowed,and we havedecided not to leavehim alone.ShouldIgo totownor should I stay? I decide to go anyway,this is the second month ofwar, and somehowIcannot sit and wait for it to end. I don't havemuch more money, everything is more andmore expensive, black market stronger.

On the busI do the purification of thefiveelements.Pollutionismuch above the normal,oil refineries are often hit, all day I watchblacksmoke from my terrace. Some of theanimalsin theZoo haveeatentheir babies, theowl, the tiger ate two. but they saved the third.The director of the Zoo is begging for donations, because nobody visits the Zoo any

more, andthereisnot enough food for theanimals.

The Danube is the most polluted riverbecausethe factories have thrown chemicalsintoittoavoidreleasing themin theair, whichwouldendanger the lives ofall the people inBelgrade. I read inthe newspapers thatplutoniumor uranium staysin the earth for the next5000 years. It may be true, but I don't trustany information any more.

I understand why Dzogchen is aboutbecoming more present - when we arebombedwithdifferent information, it is necessary to go beyond the dualisticmind.Thereis no truth, nolie, nothing toknow.

The buspassesthrough the centerof town,whichlooks unreal,likethe scenery for a war

movie.Thebuilding for the TV station hasbeen hit; Ivana, a practitioner who met Rin-poche in Belgrade used to work in this building. Luckily she wasfired in time. Now shehas anotherproblem.I talkedwithher on thephone, she has nowork,no money, her washing machineand boiler are not working, andher mother called her,cryingover the phonebecauseshe has no money to buy bread. Shedecided to ask forfinancial help from somefriends abroad.

The bus continues. I reach asquarewhereall four buildings have been destroyed. One ofthebuildingswas hit 15 minutes after the others. A man lost both legs trying to help thewounded immediately after the bomb, whenthe next one exploded. I practice exchangingmyself with him, compassion, contemplation

A. I reach the squarewhere I shouldmeetafriendto give her the text for correction, and I

continuedonpage9

C O N T E N T S

2 TeachingChgyalNamkhai Norbu

3 Retreat ScheduleSummer-Autumn withChgyalNamkhai Norbu

4 Asia ReportDanielaTarizzo

6 Dreamsand Tibetan MedicineDr. NyidaChenagtsang

7 TheMirrorandits Future

8 Shang Shung Edizioni

10-17 CommunityNews

18-19 Reflections

20 TheYakOnTheEndOfYourOwnNose

JohnShane

THE MIRROR MAY/JUNE 1 999 1

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ChgyalNamlchai Norbu

Whenwe followthe teaching we become responsible forthe teaching and transmission.Goingto the teachingisnotlikegoing to thetheater.Ifwe are going to thetheaterwesee and enjoy, and then maybe laterwesay how much we

enjoyedand thatis all. Wedon't havemuchresponsibility.Theteacheristransmitting knowledgewiththe teaching,

whichwe should apply.We callthe people who are following the teachings the 'sangha'. In general in Buddhist teachingsthereis the Buddha, 'dharma' and 'sangha'. What does'sangha' mean?Sanghameanspeoplewho arefollowingtheteachings of the Buddha andthoseteachings are the 'dharma'. The teaching comes from Buddha, so we recognizeBuddha,'dharma' and 'sangha' and we apply and go ahead.Togo aheadmeansto try to liberate from samsara.So, inanycase, the 'sangha'issomethinglikeaboat.Inaboattherearemany people who are traveling somewhere; in aboatwetravel across a lake oranocean and arrive somewhere.So,ingeneral, we say the ocean of samsara. In the oceantherearemanyboatscrossing and trying to travel. Theboatinwhichwe travelisthe 'sangha'ofthe 'dharma' and theBuddha.

When we arrive across the ocean depends on whichmethod we use and what we are applying. Also theDzogchen teaching is akind of aboat.When I started toteach,anewboatwas created. I was notgoingto atheaterorpublichalltogiveakindoflecture, buttotransmitDzogchenteachings.So, from thefirstdayin 1966 whenIbegan teaching, fromthatmomentuntiltoday I amcontinuallyteachingpeople who are entering thisboatand trying to cross thisoceanofsamsara. ThatiscalledSantiMahaSangha.

Ingeneral when we speak ofSantiMahaSangha, peoplethink it is a training program and Namkhai Norbu preparedsome books and we study and do some practice and takeexaminations and we proceed through the levels of SantiMahaSangha. SantiMahaSangha is really a preparation forpeople who are travelingintheboatto become more responsiblefor the travel and so they can collaboratewithpeople,etc. SantiMahaSanghaisreallythat.Inthatboatthereare somany kinds of beings. For example, in a boattherecan beprofessors, engineers, very expert people, people who are

doingbusiness, andtherealso can be some dogs and smallcats. Iftherearecatsand dogs, they don't understand theresponsibilityin getting acrossthatocean.But allthe peoplehaveanideabecausethey enteredthatboatforcrossing.

Everyonedoesnot have thesamecapacity andknowledge. So you see that is what SantiMaha Sangha means;people who are preparing.AlsoSantiMahaSangha trainingdoesn'tmean ifyou don't do SantiMahaSangha you can'tbe in thisboat.It is sufficient you are in theboatand youdon't create problems. Then the people who have moreknowledgetakemoreresponsibility,helpandgo ahead.

If youcreate some problems then it becomes problemsfor all peoplebecausewe are in thesameboat.That is anexample of what SantiMaha Sangha means. SantiMahameansDzogchen;Dzogchen andAtiyogaare just the same.There is no difference; meaning our realnatureand potentiality.How we discoverthatpotentiality is the Dzogchenteaching. Theteacherintroducesthatto thestudent,the stu

dent entersinthatknowledge,whichmeans thatthestudententersinthatboat.Thatmeans'sangha'- people who are followingthe teachings correctly or incorrectly - are all in thesameboat.

Sincethe beginning when I started to teach, thousandsofpeople have heard the teachings.Idon't even remember eachperson. Itdoesn'tmean all the people are perfect or goodpractitioners ofDzogchen.There are many people who arelikecatsand dogs.Maybetheyfollowfor a few months, forexample, and later they go away. They are thinking ,"Oh Ihave no connection with thisteacher or teaching, I don'tcare." But when youcreatea relationshipwiththis teachingand you receive the transmission, you can't cancelthat.Ifyou have an idea to cancel it and go away itmeansyou arebecominglikecatsand dogs on a ship.Of course,if you goaway and are notintheDzogchen Community,youcan't create many problems.Alsocatsand dogs on a ship try and getsomething to eat and they sleep andthat'sall.TheDzogchen

Communitymeansthe people who are onthatship. This istheDzogchen Community.

In general, when we think of the Dzogchen Communitywe think of an organization. In the Dzogchen Communitythereis theGakyil,the responsibles of theGakyiland manypeople who are not apartof the DzogchenCommunity.Thisisa socialpoint ofview.Wehave asocialcondition but thesocialconditiondoesnot correspond to the real condition-Stillwe must accept andfollowthesocial conditionbecausewelivein society. Ifwe are smallbirdand are in a cage andone daywebecome awarethatweareabirdandwehave twowings forflyingfreelyinspace-not forlivingin asmallcage- thatis called knowledge and understanding. A smallbirddiscovers how the situationdoesn'tcorrespond to the realcondition.But itdoesn'tmeanthatwhen you discoverthat

Chgyal Namkhai NorbuinVenezuela

T RAVE L ING A C R O S S THE OCEAN

OF SAMSARA

TeachingbyChgyal Namkhai Norbu

Easter Retreat, Tashigar,Argentina1999

togetherwithother practitioners. It's not sufficient do just doacollectivepractice of the A and then go away. That is notverycomfortable for everybody.Ofcourse themainpracticeisGuruyogaand being in thestateof whiteAforever. Butifwe are always doingthatwhen wemeettogetherand havemore time to dedicate, and weonlysayA,then we don't feelwell.

For example,inTibet most everyoneeatstsampa. Tsam-paisthe national food. In Italy most people eat spaghetti andallkinds of pasta. In India and Chinathey eat rice. That isgood for our health and attitude. But ifyou eat only rice orspaghetti, morning spaghetti, afternoon, spaghetti, evening

spaghetti, tomorrow spaghetti, day after tomorrow spaghetti,this week spaghetti, next month spaghetti, then you don'tlikespaghetti anymore.Youknow spaghettiisthemainfood,it is important. But you mustalternatewithother foods andthenyou canstillenjoy spaghetti. Thesameway also, morning A, mid dayA,eveningA,tomorrow,A,day after tomorrow A,when we are meetingA ,when we have time to dopracticeonlyA,thenwebecome suffocated.

Ourcircumstances are different and the situation alwayschanges; ourhumor,our feeling.everything changes.Forthatreason we need also different kinds of practice for strengthening the practice of whiteAandGuruyoga. Whenyoumeettogether instead of only saying A, you can do a Tun forexample. A Short,Medium,or LongerTun. Also it's veryimportant in general to practice according to the periods ofincreasing and decreasing moons; then it is good to combinewith those times. In the practices of Sutra,Tantra andDzogchen the practices we have in general in two main

points. Oneisfor increasing and one is foreliminating.Whatdoweneed to eliminate?Allnegative karma and potentiality.That is called purification.When we say increasing what dowe increase? First we increase virtue and good actions. Thatmeans we are accumulating merit. That means we areincreasingrelativelyprosperity andlonglife,allthesethings-Itseemsincreasing longlifeis something more relative, butifwe have no longlifeand prosperity we couldn't practiceandrealize.

Sometimes people have so many problems and even ifthey want to practice they have no time. Sothesetwo mainpointsinthe teachings wecallbsagsandsbyang.T sameansaccumulating and increasing.And sbyang meanspurifying.So wecombinebsagsand sbyanginthe increasing moon andthe contrary period,becauseeverything isrelativeand whenwe combine we can have more affect. Forthatreasonin thepractice of the Tun we do the long life practice of Pad-masambhava during the increasing moon, and the manifestations ofVajrapani,Gum Dragpur, andGum Dragpo.Al lthiswecalledthab(methods) during increasingmoon.And thenwith the decreasing moon we are doing practices like theDakini Simhamukha,becausetheDakinirepresentsenergyand energy is not something of the material level.We alsohave many practices of purification,like Vajrasattva andShitro.

CONNECTING

WITH THE TRANSMISSION

LIGHTING THE LAMP

TeachingbyChgyal Namkhai Norbu

P.BARKY

you can immediately breakthatcondition.Ifyou get out andtry tofly alittle,immediatelyahawk or catwilltry to eat youbecauseyou have no capacity to defend yourself or to fly.Youdo not havethatexperience.Wemust accept and respecthow thesocialconditions are.

Evenif we are a small group of people meeting to dosomethinginour society, we mustlegalizethings orwehaveproblems. I remember once when we were in San Franciscoand we had finished the teachings we went outside on theroad. The people were not leaving immediately and weretalkingand a littlecrowdformed on the road. There was noproblem;they were just asking where the other lived,whentheywouldleave, etc. Immediately two policemen arrivedand when they arrived they asked, "What is the problem?"Weanswered, "There is noproblem".Andthey observed usand went away. That is an example of the real condition inour society.

Ifyou are going in any country you must be aware and

respect what the mie ofthatcountryis.Ifyou do somethingcontrary,you may not return to yourowncountry butmay goto prison. In this kind of condition and limitation existssomething concrete, butthatisnot therealcondition;itistherelativecondition.We must be aware of this relative conditionandbe respectful.

For thatreason, in society, if we do collective practiceand do somethingtogetherinthisboatofSantiMahaSangha, then we do things legally andwithinthe socialconditions. These areprovisionalthings and not given too muchimportance;thatis not themainpoint of theDzogchenCommunity.Evenif it is not the main point, it is indispensable.Otherwisewecan'tdoanything.

The realsenseof the Dzogchen Communitymeanstheteaching, the transmission and how we relate withall thepeople in theworldwho are interested. That is the reason Iam always prayingthateveryone collaborateswitheach other. Collaboration is most important for the knowledge andunderstanding. When we are in the sameboat and don'tknow something we learn from someone else. She or hedoesn'tknow something and I know, so I inform them andwe collaborate and getinthatknowledge.For thatreason wealso have meetings of practitionerstogetherand docollectivepractice.

Some people have the ideathatthey received the teachings from theteacher and they don't liketo do collectivepracticewithmany people; theylikemore personal practice.Manypeople have this idea and sometimes you can practiceinthis way. In history, for example,Milarepawent alone onthe mountain and realized. But beinglike Milarepais verydifficult. Weare in society,withbusinesses and many thingsto do and in thiscase it is very important to collaborate

Tashigar Easter RetreatEasterDay, Apri l 1999, Argentina

We already know what is most importantinour practicesince I've alreadytoldyou. WestartwithA,developOm AHum and then we develop everything. When we aredoingthevisualizationof the whiteAwiththe thigle offivecolors,thatrepresentsour potentiality. When we are beinginour potentiality in Dzogchenthat meansbeinginthestateofcontemplation.Maybeyou arethinking"Whatiscontemplation?"Contemplationdoesn'tmeanyou arethinkingor creating anything,itmeansyouare beinginyour realnature.Sothatis the main practice. For doing this practice, of course,

continuedonpage3

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continued frompage2

youneed to receive transmission andknowthe method and thencan be inthat state.Transmission is not sufficient ifyouread abook and it saysthereis a letterAand thiglelikethis, and youthink ofthisat yourheartandyouare remaininginthestateandthatisGuruyoga.Youcan read and understand, butthatis nottransmission.

Transmission means that the teacher is transmitting firstorally,then with the symbol and then with direct transmission.Then you are receivingthattransmission. We have ourthreeexistences of body and speech and mind and the transmissiongoesalong withthese threeaspects.Symbolic transmission is

related more to our physicallevel,oral transmission with ourenergy level,and direct transmission with ourmind.So you areworkingwith theteacherand the teacheris working with youand they transmit andthatmeansnow you are connected withthe transmission.Ifyouare not connectedwiththe transmissionand even if you know everything, you read and have manyideas, you arestillnot connected with the transmission. If youwant to light a lamp what do you do?Youconnectwiththe current.Ifyouare not connectedwiththe currentthereisnolight.Itisthesameway with the transmission; it exists from the beginning with Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva, the fiveDhyaniBuddhas,and Garab Dorjeuntiltoday connected the transmission.The transmission is not invented by theteacher.Theteacherisfollowing that transmission, the teacher is connected tothattransmission, so then theteacheris connecting to you. This iscalledtransmission.

Transcribed&editedby NaomiZeitz

WorkingWith

SamayaChgyal Namkhai Norbu

Attheendof asessionofteachingson 5thFebruary,1999,

atTashigar,ChgyalNamkhai Norbu Rinpochetalkedabout

the SantiMaha Sangha Program, and people's attitudes

towardsthetransmisinandteaching.This excerptis thefinal

sectionofthatteaching.

6tit's important that we understand the situation and workwiththatsituation. Particularly with regard to ourattitude

and behavior(chodpa,)one of the most importantaspectsisour samaya. Ifindthis is one of the more complicated and difficultthings for people, for example between studentand student, practitioner and practitioner. They create tensionsbetween themselves and many times develop and keepthesetensionscontinually. Wecan have tensions,becauseweareliv

ingin astateof dualisticvision.But we also have presence-thatis one of our most important practices. If we have tensions, we must discover we have tensions. So after noticingthatwe have tensions, if we keep thesetensions or developthem,thatmeansweare breaking samaya.

Soifwehave tensions andwegiveimportance tothesetensions, itmeanswe have not really integrated knowledge. Inthiscasewhat should we do? We purify. We eliminatethosetensions. Tensions are in relationships, tensions are betweentwo people orthreepeople, not only one. When you have tensions with someone and you are nottalking,not communicating,thenthatperson also develops tensions. Day after day thetensions continue to develop. It is importantthatwe know theway to resolve things andthatwe communicate with each other, and payrespectto eachother.Yousee, when wefinishourSanti Maha Sangha examination then I speak about thesamaya commitments.Youmust not think, "Oh I passed theexamination and now it'sOK."Thisis related to our chodpa;ourattitudeand behavior. It's very, very important thatyouapply this andthatyou arepresentinthat,not only for SMS,but foryou,yourlife,for your speech, your path, everything.Soyou should learn many thingsabouthow you should be inthe training ofSMS.People who are on theboatofSMSmustbe aware, and must know and put everything into practice veryclearly.

OK.This isall."TranscriptbyLynneGeary,

editedbyEliseStutchbury

SUMMER - AUTUMN 1 9 9 9

w i t h

CHGYAL NAMKHAI NORBU

ITALY

July 7-11MERIGAR

UPADESHATEACHINGS

furtherinformationandcontact

seeMerigar Program,page10

RUSSIA

July21-25KUNSANGAR

LONGDE TEACHINGS

furtherinformationandcontact

seeKunsangarProgram,page12

USA

August4-8

TSEGYALGAR

TEACHINGS ON THE PRINCIPLESOF

DZOGCHEN

furtherinformationandcontact

seeTsegyalgarProgram,page13

August 13-15

Chicago,Illinois

TEACHINGS

ON GENERAL AWARENESS

AND D RE A M PRACTICES

at theC. G.JungInstitutein Evanston(conveniently located just north ofChicago)

Suggested donation: $150

Pre-registration by July 15: $130

Dzogchen Community Basic Members: $105

Sustaining Members: no charge

Fora registration form and more information

(how to getthere,accommodations, etc.)

pleasevisitour website listed below

Voicemail:847-475-4948 & Fax: 847-853-1667

Email:lynnsuth@aol.com

Website: www.tashi.org/chicago

August 20-22

Houston, Texas

DawnMountain Temple

Tel: 713-222-2331Email: anne@dawnmountain.org

Website: www.dawnmountain.org

August 27-29

Santa Fe, NewMexicoTel:505-466-4280, 505-473-7176

Email:jcasilio@ix.netcom.ocm

September 9-12

Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Tara Mandala

September 9:DEDICATION OFSTUPA

September 10-12:TEACHINGS

Tel:970-264-6177

Email:75402.1127@compuserve.com

Website:www.taramandala.com

September 23

San Francisco,California

PublicTalk

Locationand time: ToBeAnnounced

Tel:510-599-9753

Fax:510-524-0933

Emailxarol. fields@ucop.edu

September 24-28

LakeTahoe,California

Tel:510-559-9753

Fax:510-524-0933

Email:garuda@ix.Tietcom.com

Cost:

$ 375.00US

includingmeals and lodging

when a non-refundable deposit of

$125.00US

isreceived by July 28th,

and the balance by August 21st.

Costafter July 28thwillbe

$425.00US.

Sustaining members only pay room and board

($225 forLakeTahoe all days)

and normal members pay 30%

ofthe totalretreatcost

or of the total for the days they are staying.

Checks should bemadeoutto the Dzogchen Community West Coast, Inc.

October 8-10

Portland, Oregon

WorldForestry Center

Tel:503-284-1448

Email.jayanti@hevanet.com

October 15-17Malibu,CaliforniaCottontailRanch

West Coast Dzogchen Community

Contact:.Stephanie Denyer

Tel:310-397-6605

Email:chiara@melong.com

October 27-31

Hawaii

TEACHINGS ON GENERALAWARENESS

AND D RE A M PRACTICES

Tel:808-328-2216

Email:jerene@aloha.net

Website to register:

www.hyperpress.com/cnn-tour99/hawaii

THE MIRROR MAY/JUNE 1 999 3

mailto:lynnsuth@aol.comhttp://www.tashi.org/chicagomailto:anne@dawnmountain.orghttp://www.dawnmountain.org/mailto:jcasilio@ix.netcom.ocmmailto:75402.1127@compuserve.comhttp://www.taramandala.com/mailto:fields@ucop.eduhttp://tietcom.com/mailto:Email.jayanti@hevanet.commailto:chiara@melong.commailto:jerene@aloha.nethttp://www.hyperpress.com/cnn-tour99/hawaiihttp://www.hyperpress.com/cnn-tour99/hawaiimailto:jerene@aloha.netmailto:chiara@melong.commailto:Email.jayanti@hevanet.comhttp://tietcom.com/mailto:fields@ucop.eduhttp://www.taramandala.com/mailto:75402.1127@compuserve.commailto:jcasilio@ix.netcom.ocmhttp://www.dawnmountain.org/mailto:anne@dawnmountain.orghttp://www.tashi.org/chicagomailto:lynnsuth@aol.com

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NOT ONLY KNOWING ABOUT IT, C O M P U T E R S

AvisitamongtheTibetanexilesinIndia

byDanielaTarizzo,ProjectExecutiveSecretariat

Anycooperativeactivityreliesfirstofallon a professional,personal

andideologicalcommitment, but also ona reliablemethodwhichenables the regularcollectionofdata and information for the futureenhancementand reorganization of thework. Periodic visitssurveyingthe places where underway projects are implemented are an essentialpartofsuchactivity.

Afterafewyearsof successfully runningA.S.I.A.'sLong-DistanceAdoptionsProject, this winter we felt it necessary to make a detailedsurvey of the sitesin India where regular sponsors donatequite anamount of money yearly (we have at presentmore than 500 sponsorshipsalloverIndia,NepalandTibet).

The survey was intended both toverifythe exact destination of thedonations we send, and to register thepossibilityof starting new pro

jectswithother institutions or funding otheractivities beingcarried outbyour counterparts. It was very important to see exactly how thingshad changedwiththe passingyearsin order to give a more adequateaddress toouractivity.

I went to visit the institutions of the Government in Exile inMcLeodGanj and inDelhi,aswellas all the Tibetan Children'sVi l lages where we have sponsorships (i.e.Bylakuppe,Upper andLowerDharamsala, Gopalpur, Pathlikuhl and Suja), the TibetanInstituteofPerformingArtsinDharamsala, andinBir,theTibetan KhampaIndustrialSociety, the Sherab Ling MonksCommittee and the Tashi JongMonastery. During the trip new contacts were established with theTibetanHomes Foundation inMussoorie,withsomestateschools forTibetans funded by the Indian government, witha home for elderly

people inBylakuppe,andwiththeEnglishcharityApTibet,whichhasbeen dealingwith development projects supporting Tibetanrefugeessince 1985.

Practicallyallthe people I met had quite a clear idea ofhowmuchworkanddevotionitimpliesto raise fundsintheWestforsuchadifferent and distant reality as theirs, and they gave a lot of evidence of boththeir appreciation and the results of ourhelp.But I also noticed somekindof dullness, a sort of numb feeling of taking for granted thatwecan,we understand, we make no efforts, we have to care, we haveinfi

nite resources, wewill forever. I never missed an occasion to makeclear as much as possible how many people who support the Tibetancausereally-evenifhappily- sacrifice somethingintheirlivesto do it.Andmoreoverhowmanyofficialruleslimitourwork, especiallywhenwe dealwithgovernment funds, where law andfiscalregulations ruleratherthan ethicsorfaithfulness, asinrelationshipswithpeople.

Mostof thechildrenare surprisingly good at studying, and deeplyeager to learn; more than ninety percent of the newcomers (thoserecentlyarrivedfromTibet,who generally havenoneorverylittlepreviousschooling)catch upwiththe educationallevelof their agewithin

just one transitschoolyear.Butthey rarely can goonstudying withouteconomic support from outside: the Government inExileprovides fortheminimumstudyingexpenditure (theTCVnetwork is auto-financedbyinternational means), and the Indian Governmentpartiallyfinances

NewcomersfromTibet,Mussoorie, North India

many day and boarding schools forTibetans, even though this oftencreatesa delicate situation of pre

carious balanceinpower sharing.Fortherest,they need torely onforeignhelp.

The results of this survey evidently ended up in an increasedamount ofwork, especiallyfor the startingofnew projects, such as the"AdoptaGran"sponsorship program, aimed at maintaining medicalcarefor the elderly people in the homes of the BylakuppeandMussoorie Tibetan settlements, or the Central School for Tibetans inChauntra,nearBir,where more than eightychildrenwere transferredlast March from a frontier settlementin Arunachal Pradesh, wherethereareconstantproblems at the borderswith China.These smallchildrendon't evenspeakTibetan,butonlythe dialect spoken in theirfamily,and sometimes cannot understand eachother.

Amongthe mosturgentneedsin thesettlementswere the followingprojects, forwhichwe are now alreadyabouttostartvarious fund-raising initiatives:-rebuildingthe primary school inBir:the complex isreallydecaying,

the walls are precarious andthereare no more gas cookers; when itrains the classrooms become aswimmingpool(I witnessed it), andduringtheMarchprayersallthe lessons are suspended for thespacetobe usedbythecommunity- providing a small bus service in the southern settlement ofBylakuppefor thechildrentoattendschooleach day, and for the elderlypeople togotothe doctor at thehospitalnearby- rebuilding the gas kitchens of the Central Schoolfor Tibetans inBylakuppe,whoseroofcollapsed during astorm-providingbooks for theschool libraryinMussoorie-buildinga communityhallforpublicmeetingsinthe southern settlementofBylakuppe-providing both hardware and software material for the computerclassesinGopalpur-buildingthe new school for the lessons oftraditionalthangka paintingby Master Tsering WangchukinTashiJong-financing the new courses to train traditionalKhampadancersintheMajnuKa Tillaschool(Delhi)

Anyonewhowantsmore details or desires to give a contribution,caneither contactA.S.I.A.inRome-1 took plenty of pictures, and wehave lots ofslides,maps,videos,materials... alsotaperecordings! - oruse the same, usual bank account, specifyingthe purposeofthe donation:

Bank: Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Arcidosso branch, (Grossetoprovince)account 3893.50Mail:account 78687001 (only from Italy)

A.S.I.A.

ViaS.Eramo1200184Rome,ItalyTel:0677200880.Fax:0677205944E-mail:mc8125@mclink.it

F O R

A S I A

Dearfriends,

As many ofyouknowA.S.I.A.'s personnelisaboutto return to EasternTibet,tothevillageof Dangche, forasecond roundofComputer andEnglish courses to follow uponlastfall'sfirststep.

Weareallvery excited to have the opportunity to continue our workthere, becauseitis provingvery beneficial for thelocalpopulation.

During the past few months we havebeen working on a listof computer equipmentthatwillallowus to lessen some of thedifficulties encountered during the fall '98courses, difficulties primarily connected tothe high number ofstudents(about30) andthelownumberofcomputersavailable(2).

In addition,our planscallfor teaching therudiments ofInternet,as knowledge of it isan increasingly important skill in today'ssociety,inChinaas elsewhere.

Unfortunately we find ourselves withsevere budgetlimitations,and wewouldliketo extend acallfor help to any communitymember who wishes to support A.S.I.A.'sefforts inTibet.

Atthe moment, we are in need of additionalUS$ 5,000.00 to be able to meetourgoalofpurchasing fouradditionalcomputersand to enable us to have anInternetcourseduring the month of August (whichwouldrequire to keep at leastthreecomputers online for two hours per day throughout themonth, with significant phone and ISPexpenditures).

Ifyouwishto help, you can contributeeitheron-lineoroff line:On LineContributions:

http://www.melong.com/asia/p-activities. cgi#qinghail

OffLineContributions:A.S.I.A.

ASSOCIATION FOR INTERNATIONALSOLIDARIT Y IN ASIA

VIAS.ERASMO1200184ROMATel:06/77200880;Fax:06/77205944

ItalianLireDonations:BANK:MONTEDEI

PASCHIDISIENA

Account#3893.50Arcidosso,58031Grosseto, Italy

USDollarsDonations:

BANK:MONTEDEIPASCHIDISIENA

Account#25789Agenzia12,ViaS.GiovanniinLaterano 9Roma,Italy

Thanks for any support you can give to thisproject, we are doing ourbest to make themostofourlimitedresources and appreciatevery muchany help!

Daniele Colajacomo

A.S.I.A.

THEMIRROR-CORRECTIONS

Tregchod andThodgal: Sorry!Onpage2 of the last issue #48, on the bottom left of thefirst columnofRinpoche's Teaching,in the 4th and 5th lines after "Consumingour karmicbody",itshouldread"tregchodisrelated to thenatureofemptiness andthdgalmeansmorerelatedwithour potentialityofmanifestation."Theyare inverted.

Their was an incorrectemailaddressin the article onpage8 regarding the SacredMusicFestival.The correctemailaddressis:FSWFSMAttn.LouwrienWijerse-mail: amsse@xs4all.nl,fax:(+31 20)6239969,tel:(+31 20) 622 4393

KunsangarGakyil:Leonid Korolevmoved to the MoscowGakyil. YulyaPhilimonovaresignedformtheRedGakyil

Pleasenote thesecorrectionsonyourInternationalContactspage:

The fax number for theDanish Communitywas incorrectinthe International contactslist.Itis:4533 113243

InAustria-TsaparangEditions is nowShangShung Editions

InItaly-AzamgarisnowcalledAzamling

In Serbia-SlavicaVoglar'saddressisRudo1,Sp.23 st.232,11000Beograd,Yugoslavia,e-mail:voma@eunet.yu

There aresomeAustraliancontact telephonenumberswhichareincorrect

intheinternationalcontactspage.Herearethecorrections:

Namgyalgar Dzogchen CommunityofAustraliaVickiForscutt-Secretary,Tel.andFax:61(0)2 4476 3446Gar(ontheland),Gekos,FedericaM.,Tel:61(0)2 44737770

Pamela Oldmeadow,12FoxPlace,LynehamACT2602,AustraliaTel:61 (0)2 6257 1177,Fax:61(0)2 62480335

Amare Pearl, Tel&Fax:61(0)26684 5570

LaurenceMills,Tel:61(0)740390470

4

Elderlypeoples'homes,Byalakuppe,SouthIndia

mailto:mc8125@mclink.ithttp://www.melong.com/asia/p-activitiesmailto:amsse@xs4all.nlmailto:voma@eunet.yumailto:voma@eunet.yumailto:amsse@xs4all.nlhttp://www.melong.com/asia/p-activitiesmailto:mc8125@mclink.it

8/11/2019 the mirror 49

5/20

BOOK REVIEWS

CAREFREEDIGNITY

byTsoknyiRinpoche

RanjungYeshePublications,1998

""PVrubwangTsoknyi Rinpoche belongs to.L/that generation of Tibetan lamas who

grew up inexile,whose ranks include such

dedicatedteachersashisbrotherChokyiNyi-ma, Khandro Rinpoche, and Tulku JigmeTromge.TsoknyiRinpoche is one of the four

sons of the late Tulku Urgyen, a reveredDzogchen master who had strong connec

tions to both theKagyuandNyingmatradi

tions.TulkuUrgyen was noted for his open-handed transmission ofDzogchento Western

students.Thisstyle of teaching has beencon

tinued by Tulku Urgyen's sons, beginningwiththe eldest, ChokyiNyima (who visited

Tsegyalgarin 1998, seeTheMinor# 46) and

laterwith Tsoknyi.

In 1991Tsoknyi traveled to the United

States with Nyoshul Khen, and soon after

wards started returning to the UnitedStatesannually to lead Dzogchen retreatsfirst in

California,and now also in Connecticut for

thepasttwoyears.

Carefree Dignityis acollectionofDharma teachings byTsoknyi Rinpoche inwhich he approaches the Dzogchen teach

ings fromavarietyofinterrelated angles. The

chaptersare transcripts of actual talkswhich

were verylightlyedited, if atall.They cap

turethe authentic flavor and styleofTsoknyiRinpoche'soral teachings, and several of the

chaptersare further enlivened by transcripts

of question and answer exchanges betweenRinpocheandhisstudents.Although Tsoknyiis able to speak English, these particular

teachings weregiveninTibetan and rendered

intoEnglishbyEricPema Kunsang and his

wife Marcia Schmidt, who are known fortheir fresh and vibrant translations. The book

ismoretopical,than systematic in its organization, so it is not absolutely necessary tobegin with the first chapter and read themthroughinlinearorder.Rinpochecovers severaltopics such as theviewofshamatha andDzogchen, the method of meditation,

Vajrasattva practice, the relationship ofyidampractice toDzogchen,and the impor

tanceofcompassion.

Rinpoche emphasizes that theDzogchen teachings are about becoming"totallyfree" not just "alittlebit free."Todo

this, the teachings must be applied at alltimes. In particular, one must continually

"recognize mindessence."This recognitionof mindessence,orrigpa,is not somethingone achieves, but "is realized by asense oflettinggo." To develop this point Rinpochecarefully distinguishes between theshamathamethod,whichinvolves a "medi

tator"concentrating on an "object" (such as

thebreath)and the Dzogchen method,whichinvolvesno reference point. Because itwithout reference point, the practice ofDzogchen

cuts through the subject-object distinction:

"Whenthe mind recognizes itself there'snothingto seethere.It's just wide open.A llofa

sudden, it'swideopen"(p.148).

Rinpoche compares the focusedapproach ofshamathato a concrete pillarreinforcedwith iron.Though itappearssturdy a bomb can easily destroy it. In contrast

rigpa,is"likeunformed space, not made out

ofanything whatsoever," so however many

bombs explode in it, thespaceofrigpa will

notbe ruinedorchangedinany way.

Rinpochepoints out the danger ofbecomingattached to the concept of emptinessdue to a one-sided understanding. If wethinkthateverything is pointless and nothing

reallymattersto us, then we won't care about

what happens to others either. We thenbecome "very ego-oriented" and selfish

thinking, " I' ll just sit here and meditate

because then I'm happy. I don't care about

the children, my husband, or anything else"(p. 152).

Althoughthe true, non-conceptual

emptiness can be directly reached through

the simplest of methods, many people needcomplexpracticeswithelaborate details due

to thecomplexityof theirminds:"it'sonlyby

going through more "elaborations that theybecome more and more simple" (p. 220).From this perspective Tsoknyi recommends

thetantricpreliminaries andyidam practice.He frequently stresses that we should notbecomedependentupon one single method

for entering into rigpa,but should cultivate

many different methods.Yetevenwhilecultivatingelaborated practices,thereis a need totrain in the instant recognition of rigpa,

becausewhen the emotions suddenlyflareup

in everyday life thereis no time to do some

kindofinvocation.The practitioner must beable topenetrateto the coreofthe emotion in

the immediate moment, before delusion can

takeroot.

Rinpoche warns of the danger ofdevelopinginflated attitudes, thinking one isa"high"practitioner and straying into wrongview.Aperson with"a goodheart,"whetherBuddhistor not,ismuchbettersituated than a"so-calledDzogchen practitioner," since the

onewitha good-heart will"at least not harmothers"(p.164).

Referringto the rash of contemporary spiritualteacherswho have proclaimed

themselves to be "enlightened," Rinpoche

comments: "Their understanding of enlight

enmentisof something verytiny"and itdoesnot coincidewithtraditional Buddhist under

standing of enlightenment. The Tibetan termfor enlightenment is sangye which means"totally purified from all obscurations" (p.

228). Until a meditator has authentically

reached the point whereallaction isasponta

neousmanifestation ofbodhicitta,he or shemust make a deliberate effort to practicevir

tuousaction, including the firstfiveParami-

tas. When meditators begin justifying ques

tionable actions with the concept thatthey

"transcended" the practice of relative virtue,thereis a simpletest:ifyou "no longer bumyourfinger when you put it in a flame" (p.

236) then you can say you have gone beyondthe needtopracticeconventionalvirtue.

The instructions in this delightful

book are not a substitute for direct experien

tialintroduction torigpaby aqualifiedmas

ter. Thosewho have not yetreceivedpointingout instructions from a master may be

inspiredto do so by reading this book. And

those who already have been fortunate

enough to receive authentic transmissionwill

experience refreshment andrecognitioninthe

contemplationoftheseteachings.

byPaulBail

MahayanaBuddhismTheDoctrinal Foundations

byPaulWilliams

Routledge, 1996317pp, $17.95

We're bom into atempest,and thewindand the rain grow wilder and moresavage as our dayspassby. We spend our

livesrunning from the storm,fleeingtowards

wherever the sky looks as if it might be blue.

Sometimes wemeet another person in themidst of the storm, and we grasp handstogether for a moment; but the windflings

thatother away, and we're alone again. We

build ourselves a shelter, andcrawl into it,but the stormscattersit to the four winds.

There'snoend to the storm.

Orso it seems. The Buddha Shakyamuni

suggested that thereis, in fact, a way out of

the stormofsamsara, andthatthe way beginson the spot where we stop running, and

instead begin to investigate carefully just

who itisthatisrunning.

The Hinayana tradition interpreted Bud

dha Shakyamuni's nirvana and death to meanthat he'd passed beyond thisworld,and no

longer had any concern for it, or for the

beings in it.A ll that remained here is his

teaching. There's nothing to be done,there-fore, but for separate practitioners to turn

away, each one to herself, and to try to also

passbeyond, using the tool ofAbhidharma

insight into the emptiness of the individual.And so a fleet of tiny vesselssetssailfor a

distant shore, their lone occupants deaftothe

cries ofall the other beings shipwrecked insamsara.

The Mahayana tradition (which providesa foundation for the Vajrayana) is a largervessel than this, andappearsto me to be a

more complete approach to the Buddha's

teaching. In this tradition, compassionateactionfor the sake ofbringingall beings to

enlightenment is considered essential to the

practice ofDharma.TheMahayanateachings

are as simple as the Hinayana teachings, butthey are also verycomplex,becausetheBud

dhas' and the Bodhisattvas' skillful means

havecalledinto being an exuberant varietyof

methods and presentations suited to differenttimes and circumstances. The variety is won

derful,butit can be confusing at fi rst.Williams'bookisnotabook of teachings,

but it's very useful for anyone who wants to

understand something about the development

of Mahayana philosophy, and about thephilosophical foundations of Mahayana,Vajrayanaand Dzogchen methods and prac

tice. The book is clear, learned, well orga

nized and good natured. I've read somescholarly surveys of Buddhist philosophythatwerelikeacrawlthroughadesertofaridlearning,in which the only landmarks werevastlyunpronounceable Sanskrit terms. Thisbookiswonderfully different.

The authorstateshis intentioninthe pref

ace:"Thisbook is intended as an introduction

to the ideasofMahayanaBuddhism,and also

someofthe recentscholarly workinthefield.It presupposes thatthereaderalready has anideawho the Buddha was, and what his basic

teachings were. In writing, I have in minduniversity undergraduates...butI very muchhopethatotherswillbe able to benefit from

whatIhave written."

His method is to trace the development

and interrelationshipofthe variousstrandsofMahayanaphilosophy in their cultural contextbut this is no dry examination of

abstract ideas. The vigor and excitement of

the Mahayana attempt to understand and

communicate thenatureof what is, in orderto free allbeings from suffering, is very evi

dentinthe book.

Williamsbeginswiththe question oforigins, and he makes it clear that the

'Mahayana'is notsimplya late developmentofBuddhistthought. Itrepresentsaparticularset of approaches to the Buddha Shakyamu-

ni's teachings, and some of these were

alreadypresentin earlyBuddhism,previous

to or along side of Hinayana, beforeMahayana became identified as aseparatetradition.

Therestof the book is divided into two

sections:WisdomandCompassion.

The first section begins by discussing the

natureof Sutra texts, thengoeson to analyze

the Prajnaparamita literature.Williamscom

mentsthat these sutras are important to the

development of the Mahayanabecausetheir"ontologicalmessage is an extension of theBuddhist teaching of no-self to equal no

essence,and therefore no inherent existence,

as applied to all things without exception."

Thesesutrastherefore disagreewiththeearlierAbhidharmaBuddhist philosophy'sclaimto have found some thingswhichreally,ulti

mately exist;i.e.dharmas (thatis,the82con

stituentbuildingblocksof our existence).

Along chapter onMadhyamikaphilosophy describes itsorigins,the development of

the Svatantrika and Prasangika schools, and

the nature of their disagreement. There are

examples ofMadhyamikamethod, as appliedto causation, to theselfand tonirvana.Whilediscussing the question of emptiness and

inherent existence, Williamsquotesthe 8th

Karmapa's identification of the two falseviewsof emptiness: nihilism, the viewthat

nothing exists at all on any level; and the

view that emptiness is some sort of reallyexisting ultimate reality or essence, likeBrahmanortheChristianGodhead.

There's a very,useful discussion of the

three aspects(trisvabhava) in the chapter on

Cittamatta/Yogacara, and also ofmindinthistradition. I get the impressionthatWilliamsisn't quite clear about theimplicationsof the

two different meanings given to the term'mind'inYogacara,butoverall,this is a verygoodconcise explanationofYogacarainrela

tionto Mahayana philosophy as awhole,and

may be useful toDzogchenpractitioners.

An examination of the essential doctrine

of Tathagatagarbha (Buddha essence/Bud

dhanature)and its place in the development

of the Mahayanaprecedesa chapter on theAvatamsaka (Flower Garland)sutra, andear-lyChineseMahayana.

The second section of the book ("Com

passion") begins by presenting the Lotus

sutra,whichhad takenshapeby the 2nd century, andwhichwas the'first clearstatementof the Buddha's continuingpresence in the

world, his skillful means, the One Vehicle

and the eventual enlightenment ofallbeings,and the importance offaith.The later devel

opment of Tendai andNichirenism in East

Asiaare also described.Chapter 8 discusses Madhyamika and

Yogacaraideas about the bodies of theBud

dha (Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya. Nir-

manakaya), and chapter 9, after touching on

the introduction of Mahayana to Tibet andthe development of the Vajrayana. describes

the path of the Bodhisattva.Williamslooks

in detail at the practices relating tobodhicitta, and at the Bodhisattvastagesasthey're conceived of in Kamalasila's Bha-

vanakrama and theGelugpatradition.

The author then examines the develop

ment of traditions about the various Bod

hisattvas, Buddhas and BuddhaFields,in thecontext ofadiscussion of thenatureof faith.

He endsby tracing the development of East

Asianschools(likePureLand)thatare based

primarilyon faith.

There's only one brief mention of

Dzogchenina chapter 9 discussion of the

8th century Tibetan debate between

Kamalasila and the Chinese monkMahayana,and of Mahayana's views as pre

servedintheTun Huangtextsbut. well,the

book doesn't claim to be a book aboutDzogchen.Itdoesprovide a lot of informa

tion that could be helpful in understanding

andperhaps applying the Dzogchen teachings.

The trees hold out their branches this

Springmorning,witha gesture,likeTara's.

thatsymbolizes thethreejewels,witha ges

ture that is ;omplete and perfect in itself.

May allbeings cometo anendof suffering.

byJayCallahan

THE MIRROR M AY IJ U N E 1 9 99 5.

8/11/2019 the mirror 49

6/20

Dreams and TibetanMedicine

Part 1

AtranscriptionfromacoursegivenatMerigarinFebruary1999

by Dr.Nida Chenagtsang

The studyofdreams inTibetancultureisa very ancientscience. There are many different ways to analyze dreams inTibet.The two main methods arereligiousanalysis and med

icalanalysis.Duringthis course, we are going to talk aboutdreamsfromthemedicalperspective.

The study of dreams in Tibetan medicine is aboutthreethousand years old. The oldest extant Tibetan medical textcalledthe Bum Shi, or the "Four Sections ofMedicine"dates

fromthis time.Muchof this materialdatesfromearlier timesbut the written material has not been found.The Bum Shiwaswrittenby a very famous Tibetan doctor, PyadbuKhri shes.

There are many extant religious texts that discuss dreamswhich predatethis text, but this is the first medical text inwhichdream analysis appears. Since this time many Tibetandoctors have done extensive study and researchwithdreams

and dreamanalysis.

By the twelfth century, Tibetans had a well-developedunderstanding of therelationshipbetween the consciousness,the subtle'rlung'energy, the chakras. the channelsand dreams.

The threemainareasofresearchand theory center on howdreams manifest, the analysis of dreams and the meaning ofdifferent symbols in the dreams. There is also a theory aboutnightmares and techniques have been developed to prevent

nightmares, insomnia and other problems associated withsleepand dreams.

The'rlung'energyandconsciousnessThef irst thing we must understand in order to interpret

dreams is the function ofandrelationshipbetween the 'rlung*

energy, the consciousnessand the chakrasand channels.Accordingto Tibetan medicine the consciousness and the

'rlung'energyenterthe mother'sovumat the moment ofconception and as the fetus develops the consciousness slowlybecomes aware and the chakrasand the channels develop.

The three main aspects of consciousness are the

"rlung".bileandphlegmenergieswhicharerespectively

linkedto thethreeemotions of desire, anger and ignorance. Of the three energies in the human body, the'rlung"energy is the most important for the manifesta

tion ofdreams.

There are two maindivisionsof'rlung'energy - the

subtle and the gross 'rlung' energy. The subtle 'rlung'energy isalwayspresent withthe consciousness and theconsciousness cannot experience anything without the

movementofthe'rlung'.Wecouldsaythatthe' rlung'isahorse and the consciousness therider.InTibetan medicineit is possible for the doctor to use the movement of

his subtle'rlung'energytocureillness.The gross 'rlung' energy is subdivided into five

types, eachresidingin adifferent part ofthebody.Eachofthese'rlung'energies has aspecific colorand thedisturbances oftheseenergies are associatedwithdifferentillnesses.Themain 'rlung','sron'zinrlung'ispresent in

the head and causes the consciousness and thesixsenseorgans to function andcan be comparedtotheactivityofthe nervous system. The 'gyen gyu rlung'resides in the

chest and its function is the breath, swallowing,speaking etc. The 'me nyam rlung' is present in the stomachand its function is digestion and absorption. The 'kyabbyad rlung'isfoundintheheartand its functioniswalk

ing, the rotation of the joints and movement in general.The 'tur sel rlung' resides in the lower part of the torsoand its functioniseliminationof alltypesofbodyfluids,e.g.urinationetc.

FallingasleepDreams manifest through the consciousness, the

'rlung' or the 'subtle' energy and the chakras and thechannels. Before we considerhow dreams manifest, we

need to understand the processoffallingasleep becauseifthereis nosleeptherearenodreams.

Whenwe go to sleep, as we relax, the subtle energy

(the 'rlung') moves into theheartchakra. When most of theenergy has entered theheartchakra, westartto sleep. Somepeople fall asleep very slowly which means thatthis energy

moves veryslowly inthesepeople. Other people fall asleepquickly whichmeans this'rlung'energyismovingquickly.

Some people have problems falling asleep because theythinka lot. The subtle 'rlung' is always unitedwiththe consciousness so when the thoughts are projectedexternally,so is

the subtle 'rlung'withthe resultthatit doesn't enterinto theheartchakramakingitdifficultfor the person to sleep.

Whenwefallasleep,theseenergies arein theheartchakra,andwhilethey remain there, we do not dream.Whenthe energyenterstheheartchakra andthereare no dreams this issimilar toourfainting.Slowlythis energyentersthecentralchannel

(dBu ma) andwhileit istherewe are in a verydeepsleep. Asthis ' rlung' energy is very light and alwaysmoving,it thenstartstoenterthe left(Ro ma) andrightchannels(rKhangma)

moving up through the channels toenter the throat chakra.Whenthe energyentersthe throat chakra,webegintodream.

StartingtodreamThisparticular 'srog dzin rlung'which enters the throat

chakra is the principal part of the subtle 'rlung' energy

althoughthereare other types of subtle 'rlung'energy. Whenthe 'srogdzinrlung'entersthe central channel it doesn't meanthatallthe subtle energy comes together there, butonlya part,because whenallthe energy unitesin one point we lose allthe

other functionsofthebody.

When the energy enters the throat chakra, we start todream. This energy moves from the throat chakra throughsmallchannelsintothe organsofthesensesand the strength ofour dreamswilldependonthe strengthofthis energyineachof

thesenseorgans. For example,ifthe strength of the energy issituatedinthe eyes, our dreamswillbeveryclearvisually,orifitis in the ears, the sounds we hear in our dreams willbe very

strongorloudbecause itisthroughthese senses thatweexperi

ence our dreams.

Inthe dream we can have experiences of seeing, hearing,tasting, touching etc. alllinkedto the sixsensesthrough this

energylinkedtothe organsofthesenses.Whilewe are dreaming, most of this energy stays in the

throat chakra, but some of it moves up and down through the

subtle channelsuntilitreaches the organsofthesenses.

Inthis diagramwecan seethatthesixdirections,up,down,North,South, East and Weststartfrom theheartchakra. The

textsexplainthatthe consciousness moves up anddown,orin

the differentdirections,but actually the consciousness doesn'tgo inthesedirections. In reality, this energy moves up, down

and in the four directionswithinthe body and this movementaffects the movement in our dreams. When the energy movesup, wedreamthatwe aremovinginan upwarddirection,suchasclimbinga mountain,flying in a plane orclimbingstairs.

Whenthis energy moves down, in our dreams we move in a

downwarddirection. When the energies move in the four

directions,we move in the corresponding direction in our

dreams.

NotDreamingSome people saythatthey never have dreams.Maybethey

dream but they don'tremember.Thereis a possibilitythattheydon'treallydream but thisisrare becausein order nottodream

the energy moves into theheartchakra and the central channelandremainstherewithout entering the left or right channels.

Sometimes when this energyentersthe side channels, it is notverystrong and then our dreams willbe too light to rememberas the energy is not sufficient enough to manifest dreams thatwe can remember.

Sometimes we cannot remember our dreams but we havecertain feelings when we wake up.For example when I wakeup I may feelgood,orsad, orIhaveadifferentfeelingfromthe

night before but I don't remember my dreams. If I have thiskindoffeeling,it meansIhadadream butIdon't remember it.Dreamsthatmake us happy or sad are ourown energies working. If someone really doesn't have dreams and their energystays in their central channel in theheartchakra, this is verygood for the health because if the energy stays like this, it

means you are really relaxed. When a person doesn't havedreams and the energy doesn't movefromthe central channel,theirmindwillbe very clear and theywillbe very content andwake upwitha lotofenergy and courage.But thisisrelatively

rare.

If someone takes medicines to sleep it will make their

dreams verylightand theywillnotusuallyrememberthem.Of

course medicines can affect our dreams. Itisbetterfor us if wehave the dreams and balance our energies in a natural way asopposed totaking medicinebecause itisverydifficultto attain

adreamlessstatein ahealthy way.

ColorindreamsSome people thinkthatwe dreamin blackandwhite,with

outcolor.Thisisnottrue.Dreams can haveall ofthecolorsweseewhenweare awake.The main colorsarewhite,yellow,red,green andblue.Wehave this typeofenergywhichislinkedtothe elements, the energy of the prana, and allthesetypes ofenergies have their naturalcolors.Wehavetheseenergies and

their natural colors in our channels and for this reason wedreamincolor.

Mixturesofcolors- pink etc., - comefromthesefivemain

elemental colors. Thecolorblacklinked totheseenergies isveryrare. In theheartchakrathereisone partthatisa bitblackincolor.Ingeneralwhenwehaveadreamwiththecolor black,or inthe dreamitgetsdark, orwesee blackanimals,ingeneralwe believe this is a negative dream because black is a very

strongcolor and can destroy other colors. When wehave thecolor blackin our dreams it meansthat thereis

something black in our energy which usually meansthereisaproblem.Buti ftheblack colorisnotpredomi

nant in the dream orthere is something in the dream

whichisnormallyblack, it does not indicate a problem.For instance, if I dream of a Tibetanpersonwithblackhair,thisisnormal.

Whenwefallasleep and dream we must wake up again.Wecannot sleep forever.As we wake up the energy reenterstheheartchakra and then movesdown. Whenthis

energyentersthenavelchakra, we wakeup. Ifthisenergymovesslowly,it isverydifficult towakeupwhileifit

movesswiftly,we wake upquickly.Sometimes peoplestillfeel sleepy after they getupwhichmeans the energy

has not come down completely. Washing with coldwaterwillhelp thissituation.

Positiveandnegative dreamsThere are threemain divisions of dreams in Tibetanmedicine:the dreams of healthy people, dreams related

to illness and secret dreams. Secret dreams can be ofdifferent types: prophetic dreams to know about thefuture, dreams after which material objects actually

manifest through the power of the subtle 'rlung' in thedream and dreams of poetry or art whichis perfectlyrecalledon wakingfromthe dream.

Within thedivision of the dreams of healthy people,

therearethreecategories:positive,negativeandneutral.Thefirst way to decide whether a dream is positive ornegative is this. Ifduringthe dream you are happy, this

can be considered a good dreamwhileif you feel bad, itis anegative dream.But itisalso importanttoknow howyou feelwithregard to the dream whenyou wake up. If a

person hasagoodfeelinguponwaking,this meansit isapositivedream. But if wefeel badduringourdream andwe also feel bad when we wake up, then this is a negativedream. The feeling we have when we wake up is

more important than the feeling during the dream.Evenif wehave a bad experience or feeling during the dream, if we feelgoodwhenwewakeupthis means itis agooddream.

For example, during a dream we may feel very bad andhave a bad experience.Thismeans our energies or elements

have a problem. But through the process of dreaming,theseenergies are re balanced and when we wake up we feel good.Tliismeansthatthe dream has re balanced the energies.

Tosay whether a dream is positive or negative, first you

mustknowhow the person feels when they wakeup. If the per-

continuedonpage 7

6

8/11/2019 the mirror 49

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continuedfrompage6son feels good, we don't always need to ana

lyzethe dream because we already knowthe

result of the dreamwhichis the most impor

tantthing.Ifa personhas agood dream and

wakes up feeling bad, then we should analyze

this dream to find the problem. Neutral

dreams are dreams we don't remember, or we

haveavery general dreambutwe don't feel

particularly different during or after the

dream.

Inthe dreamsofsickpeople different ener

gy problemsanddifferent sicknessescreatedifferentkindsofdreams.

Secret dreams(gSang wai rmi lam)One type of secret dream istheprophetic

dream. Anyone can have thiskindofsecret

dream.Alsotherearesecret dreamsthatare

the result of practice and medicineand

through this people make prophesies.

Whiledreaming we all havethecapacity

to have prophetic dreams because the chakras,

'rlung' energy andconsciousness have this

capacity naturally.Forexample sometimes

animals can feel an earthquake coming

because they have this capacity.In thesame

way, allhumans have thecapacitytoknowthe

future.AccordingtoTibetanmedicineifthere

arenoproblems with thechakras, channels

and 'r lung' energy and we arecalm,then we

have this secret capacity toknowthe future.

Why don'tweknowabout the futurewhile

weareawake? Becausewealwaysuse the

organsofour sixsenses.Welook,wetaste,

wehear, we touch.Working withthesix sens

es means our subtle'rlung'energy isworking

everywhere.Forexample, when I listento

music thena part ofmy consciousnessand

'rlung'energy are concentratedonlisteningso

the 'rlung'is notgathered together in one

place inthebody.Duringsleep we havethe

opportunity forallof theenergies tocome

together. Ifthereare no disturbances,wehave

thepossibilitytodreamofthe future.

Our subtle energiesarelikeabig lake of

water. Ifthereare manystreamsandriversof

watergoingoutofthe lake then the movement

is flowingoutward. But ifthereis no egress,then thepowerof thelakeisunitedin one

place.

Part2 inMirror#50Transcription and editing

byA.McGhee& L.Granger

Message

fromthe

INTERNATIONAL GAKYIL

With this message the International

Gakyil(IG) wishestoexplain whatithas done so far. Wewouldliketo communi

cate theproblems that have arisen in the

process and try to developaprogram forthe

continuationofourwork.

The Dzogchen Community is rapidly

growing. We nowhave five Gars and the

number of people interested in the Dzogchen

teachings willbe increasing. Because of this,

the need toimproveglobalcoordinationofthe

activitiesofour Communityismanifesting.

Toimprove theefficiency in ourcommunica

tionandtotrytopositivelyuse time, money

and talent, Rinpoche founded the IG in

August,1998.

Inthe periodthatfollowedtheIGwas fre

quently asked to helpfindinganswers to sev

eralquestions concerning administration and

coordination between thedifferent parts of

our big community.Mostoftheseproblems

were related in some way to money.We

believe that some ofthese matters can be

solvedby ourselves,byimprovingthecom

municationanddevelopingasenseofrespon

sibility towards our Community.The IG

wantsto be theplatform where this process

can develop.We thinkthatthis canonlysuc

ceed if thepractitionersofour Community,

accepttheIGas auseful means and takean

active partinthe developmentofits purpose.

Our visiononfunctionandresponsibilitiesoftheIG

The time we spendwhileRinpocheis pre

sentinour midst is very precious.Thismeans

thatwehave to be economicinourcommuni

cationwithRinpocheand make thebestuseofthis presence. Rinpoche founded the

Dzogchen Communityand personally made it

into whatit is now. Wemust prepare ourselves

for a(remote!) future inwhichwe shouldbe

able to function independent ofRinpoche's

support.

For thatreasontheIGwould liketostart

assistingRinpochenowwiththedailyadmin

istrative problems.Byprovidingand support

ingcommunication,withjointefforts, we can

findsolutionsfortheseproblemswithinour

Community ourselves. While Rinpocheis

presenttoguideus,we must check continu

ously ifour decisionsarecoherent withhis

vision.

It was Rinpoche'svisionfor ourCommu

nitythatdecisionsarebeing made usingthe

systemoftheGarsandGakyils,duringGakyilmeetings in adynamic interaction between

the threecolors, blue,red andyellow.This

systemisnot bureaucratic nor authoritarian.It

involvesthe active cooperation and responsi

bility ofevery individual. Inthat sensethe

InternationalGakyil is also aGakyilbutwith

amoreglobal,international character.In the

same way,the IG has theauthority totake

decisions for the benefit of ourCommunityas

awhole, onmattersthatare beyond the span

ofcontrolof theGars.The Gars andGakyils

shouldbeautonomous andindependentfor

their decisions on theirfieldofactionfor their

region.Yet general decisionsfor the global

Communityas awholeis theresponsibilityof

NamkhaiNorbu Rinpoche together withthe

IG. Andcommon decisionsthataremade in

the IG shouldbecommunicatedto andfollowedby allGarsand Gakyils.

Rinpochemade us awarethatthroughthe

IGwecouldbeworkingmoreefficiently.For

this weneed tocreate structures andplat

forms,advisory boardsandworkinggroups

and we need peoplewillingtoinvolvein this

process.

WhathappenedsofarThe IG tries to encourage more peopleto

become active members and to keeprenewing

their memberships.Wehelp to reorganize and

coordinate theexistingsystemtryingto make

itmore efficient andfairfor people in differ

entpartsof theworld.Thiscouldhelp to pro

videeach ofthe Garswitha stronger financial

basefor their activitiesandhelptosustainthem throughout each year,thuscreatingthe

basefor the continuationofthe teachings.

The YellowIG has already established an

advisory board and acommunication plat

form for theGarstodiscuss theirfinancial

issues, sincethefinancial problems seemto

be the most pressing.Atthe momentwetryto

workout, howmatters thatare of interest for

the whole international community (like

expenses ofThe Mirror, thesponsoring of

important communityE-mailaddresses, mat

ters related to organizing general retreats,

YantraYogaand VajraDanceretreatsetc.) can

be discussed by all the gars, so thatexpenses

can be sharedaccordingto theirpossibilities.

We learned about the importance ofcom

munications with other partsof theworld

first, instead of taking important financialdecisions alone andasking others forhelp

onlywhen problems arise.Wealso think,that

financialtransparency in ourCommunity is

extremely important,inorder to dealwithour

problemsinan appropriate way.

Asfor theactivitiesof the Red IG,withthe

helpofRosaNamkhai, Anna Eidand the

MerigarGakyil,thethreeIGmembers togeth

er wroteapaper containing standard operat

ing procedures.Thisis a checklistfor people

who organize aretreatfor the first time: how

toset it up andhowtoprovideour Master

withthebestcircumstances.Itwillbesentto

the places who receive Rinpoche for the first

timeor thefirst time after several yearsand

we want to provide assistancewithany prob

lem arising.

The publishingofDzogchen Community

related issues ontheInternetandtheprovid

ing ofguidelines forthiswillbe an issueofthe

BlueIG.

Wealsowouldliketo assistwiththe train

ing of people who are willing to accept

responsibility within our Community,by

workingoutprotocolstoguide peoplewith

important administrative and other tasks. We

are also starting some projects designedto

createsome funds for the workingof the IG

and which hopefully in thefuture couldbe

used where and when needed for the different

projectsoftheCommunity.

The IGwill at alltimes appreciateand

welcome any suggestionsyoumight have.We

also inviteyou tocommunicate to us any

problems you might faceinyour work for thecommunity,since weonlycan help if weare

beinginformed, preferably throughthe con

tactpersonsthatareappointed by the Gakyil

ofyour Gar.

Fabio Andrico,ChristianeFiorito

andLoekJehee,April 1999

THE MIRROR ANDITS FUTURE

Comments fromNorbunet

In thelast month therewas averyactivediscussion byNorbunetsubscribers in reactionto a letterposted onNorbunet written by

Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche regarding thefinancialsituationofThe Mirror.Below aresomeexcerpts fromsomeofthecomments.Weappreciateallinput, discussionandsuggestionsregardingthepublication ofTheMirrorandcontinueto do ourbest toprovideapublicationresponsiveto theCommunity-

TheEditors

ChehGoh

-A publication can amuse, provoke, teach,

inform,gossip ,to entertain.Ithink toalarge

degreetheMirrordoes inform,but does it do

therestwell?

- How can apublicationcompetewithalloth

er magazinesifthereaderswant more ?-How often do people thinkthatthe Mirror

doesthesethings? Dopeople thinkthatit is

important to have such things?

MaryFinnigan

The reason The Mirror fails toattract sub

scriptions is because itisoften verydull,self-

righteous and lacksaeoheivnt editorialpoli

cy. The Mirror iscompeting in an evolved

marketplace. TheMirror needssectionsand

comment andopinion.

DianeCampbell"

Isee theissue of theMirrorasquite simple:

Namkai Norbu Rinpocheis ourMaster. He

has asked us to subscribe to theMinw. I*hsis

not justtobenefit theMirror-itisto benefit us

inpractice. If anybody wants different articles

they might want to get out their pen and write

some.

JamesTan

Advertisement Revenue -This is the life-

bloodof most publications and through spon

sorship, manyon-linemagazines sitessurvive

inthis periodofhighcost. The conversion of

the Mirroras afree-to-download magazine

may notbetoobad an idea.

Mark.Farrington

Icannotbelievethatevery DzogchenCom

munity member in theworld is not asub

scribertoThe Mirror.Notonly is it awell

writtenandconstructedcommunitypaper, butit isobviouslythe threadthatweavesall ofthe

InternationalCommunity together.

It should be obvious to everyone how impor

tantacommonnews andinformationalsource

isto aCommunitythatis spread aroundthe

world.

Subscriptionto TheMirrorshould be as high

apriority intheCommunityasmembership,

because,infact, itis aforniofmembership.

KENBRADFORD@designlink.com

It [TheMirror]doesinformwellenough, and

italso does somelimitedteaching.Uis bereft

of any real dialogueorsubstantial essays by

anyone other than Rinpocheonessentialor

controversialconcernsrelevantto practice or

the teachings.

"ZeljkaJovanovic"

[TheMirror]istheonlyplace where non-jour

nalistsfrom theVajra Family (likeme), can

exchange simple poems and occasional arti

cles.Wereallyshouldwritemore.

And, if somebody really wishestosubscribe

for 100copies forThe Mirror,I am surethere

are someofus who cannot afford evenone

subscription.

AnnPickering

Improvement: thequalityof thepaperthe

Mirror isprintedon and thetype size, my

middleaged eyes findtheprint small,pale

and smudgy. The tabloid format also perhaps

does nothelp.Amore spacious layout.

Daniele Colajacomo

1-The Mirrorshouldbealittleless"inbred"'.

2- There's currentlyastringent review ofall

articles.,.thereshouldplentyofwindowsthere

for individuals/writers more "independent"

pointsofview.

3 - TheMirrorcouldbenefitfromatrueweb

site.Rightnow theweb siteisup. running,butnotvery good.Hopefullythatwillchange dra

maticallyinthe nextfew months.

"Michael Sullivan"

Ihave an idea about increasing subscriptions.!

wouldrecommend adding valueto thesub

scription byputting AL L the back issues

online,and make themallavailableto current

subscribers.

EladOphirochshav^yahoo.con^

The cardinalvalue TheMirrorcanhave is for

those less fortunate amongst us. wholivein

somewhat distant countries (in my case.

Israel, until a fewmonths ago) , withno

Dzogchen Communitythereyet tospeakof.

The Mirrorwas myonly window,(other then

Norbunet, and a few books), prior to meeting

our Master in thislife. Itinspired me further

todowhatever possibletoattend aretreat

with him.

NikosLiberopoulosIibero@otenet.gr

Thereisno problemwiththecontexts of the

Mirrorastheyarenow. Thepaper'sstyle of

typography makesithardtofullycommuni

catethiswiththepublic.ThoughIpersonally

likeits classic lay-out,Imust admitthatit is

neitherpracticalnor easy to read.Itrequiresa

greatamount of effort toread fonds smaller

than9-1Opton ayellowishpaper. The layout

makes theMirror look a bit tooacademic,

rigidand stiff.Ifthe paper wishestosurvive

on its own capacities,itshallalso makeamin

imumeffort to becomealittlebit more "user-

friendly".

Bodhi

Editorial:Itisclearfrommany experiences

thatRinpocherequiresthattheMirrorcontent

reflectDzogchen principles.

1.BuddhismandDzogchenare notmainstream practicessothereisnot awidebaseof

support.So.activitiesoftheDzogchenCom

muni') are almostentirely financedbysup

portersoftheDzogchenCchotocopies stop.

THE MIitKOK MATUva E 999

mailto:cng@hplb.hpl.hp.commailto:mary@pema.demon.co.ukmailto:CAMP@btl.netmailto:jamestcc@cyberway.com.sgmailto:KENBRADFORD@designlink.commailto:Zeljka.J@wanadoo.frmailto:100253.3104@compuserve.commailto:dani@3dsite.commailto:Iibero@otenet.grmailto:bodhi@iquest.netmailto:bodhi@iquest.netmailto:Iibero@otenet.grmailto:dani@3dsite.commailto:100253.3104@compuserve.commailto:Zeljka.J@wanadoo.frmailto:KENBRADFORD@designlink.commailto:jamestcc@cyberway.com.sgmailto:CAMP@btl.netmailto:mary@pema.demon.co.ukmailto:cng@hplb.hpl.hp.com

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B O O K L E T S H A N G S H U N G E D I Z I O N I B O O K L I S T

Most ofthesebookscontainpracticesand teachingsthatarenot intendedfor circulationoutside of the Community.

Books markedwithanasterisk(*)are forpublicuse.

WORKSOFCHGYALNAMKHAINORBU

SERIES OFTEACHINGSANDPRACTICES

1.Transcriptsfromoralteachings

CommentaryonNgndroL.15.000 US$10Commentary toStairwaytoLiberation withexplanations onLojongs,GuruyogaandKordeRushen.

The FourAwarenesses(*)L.5.000 US$3.50

The ThreeSacredPrinciplesL.8.000US$5.50Refuge andBodhicitta,the contemplation and the dedication ofmerits are thethreefundamentalaspectsofthe teaching.

Bodhicitta(*)L.8.000US$5.50ChgyalNamkhai Norbugivesadetailed explanation of therealmeaningofBodhicittaandhowtoapplyitinpractice.

TheSeventhLojongEditedbyA.ClementeL.8.000US$5.50The SevenMindTrainingsbelong to theDzogchenUpadesatraditionand are included in the SantiMahaSangha BaseLevel.TheSeventhTrainingincludesthreemethodstobringthe practitioner to recognition of thestateof contemplationthroughthreespecific experiences.Tothis new revisededitionwas added averyclear and extended explanation onParlung.

ThepracticeofRushenL.8.000US$5.50Rushenpractice is for entering into knowledge of the real

conditionthrough different kinds of experiences related tobody,speech and mind. One of the practices for the SantiMahaSanghaBaseLeveltraining.

The External Rushenand thePracticeof the Purificationof the Six Lokas(Internal Rushen)L.8.000US$5.50Anessential explanation on the way ofdoingthe Externaland InternalRushen,two important practicesincludedintheBaseLevelof SantiMahaSangha. Transcription of teachingsgivenin1981-82.

ThePracticeof theSevenSemdzinsL.8.000US$5.50The explanationofthe sevenSemdzinsinthis bookisessentiallybased on a text byAdzamDrugpa.The Semdzins arehighly effectivemethodsfor distinguishing the purepresenceofrigpafrom the dualistic mind, and for removing

doubtswhichariseduringpractice.

TeachingsonSemdebySodogpaLodrGyaltsenL. 16.000 US$11In1991ChgyalNamkhai Norbucommented on a text bythemasterSodogpaLodrGyaltsen entitled Instructions onthe Dzogchen Semde according to the Nyang system.Besidesprovidingmethodsto discover thestateof contemplation,Sodogpa's text contains interestingreferencesto themeditative experience of Mahamudra according tomastersoftheDrupaKagydpatradition.

The FourContemplationsofDzogchenSemdeEditedbyA.ClementeL.8.000US$5.50New revised edition of the four yogas or contemplations(nepa,miyowa,nyamnyid, Ihundrub) brieflyexplained onebyone.

MiLam,the DreamPracticeEditedbyAdrianoClementeL.8.000US$5.50Thispractice from the Upadesha series ofDzogchenallowsthe practitionertorecognize thestateofthe dream and to useitfor practicethusdevelopingclarityof thestateofcontemplation. /

Ganapuja /Lire15.000 US$10Along and general explanation of the real meaning of theGanapuja followedby the ritual formalities and behaviorandbythe updatedwayofdoingthe practice.

Long-lifePracticeand Chiidlen ofNyaglaPemaDiindulL.8.000US$5.50Teachings on the terma ofNyaglaPemaDiindul,masterofChanchub Dorje andAyu Khandro. Contains the long-life

practice TsedrubGongdand theChiidlenofthethreedimen

sions.

GuruDragpurL.8.000US$5.50Methodand mantra for two Gum Dragpur practiceswithintroduction.

ThePracticeofSinhamukhaL.8.000US$5.50Transcription of the teaching transmitted by Rinpoche atMerigarin1991.

GreenTaraL.8.000US$5.50In1991ChgyalNamkhai Norbutaughta practiceof AryaTarawhichincluded the mantra of Green Tara and WhiteTaraas well as invocations of important masterssuch asChogyurLingpa(Mchog-gyurGling-pa),AtishaandChgyalNamkhai Norbuhimself.The book contains a detailedexplanationofthe practice and itsfinality.

dzerChenmaL.5.000 US$3.50MaritseordzerChenma('Od ter canma:She who hasrays oflight),a particular manifestationofTara,is associat

edwiththe light of the sun. This teaching also includes aninvocation written by Rinpoche's paternal grandmother,LhundrubTso (1864-1945), who was a direct disciple ofAdzamDrugpa,andashortsadhana.

ThosGrol.ThePracticeof theTwenty-five ThiglesL.15.000 US$10Thisbook contains theThdrolteaching given byChgyalNamkhai Norbu at Namgyalgar,Australia, in December1995 and Merigar, Italy, September 1995. Rinpochereceivedthisteaching fromhisrootmaster,ChangchubDor

je.

The FourChogshag.ThepracticeofTregchodEditedbyA.ClementeLire8.000US$5.50A clear explanation of the fundamental practice ofDzogchenUpadesha.

Puja for theNagasL.8.000US$5.50TheNagas,whichcomprise one of theEightClasses,whiledominatingthe water element are also associated with theearth and the underground environment.

LungtaL.5.000 US$3.50Lungtais the protective force of theindividualand is symbolized by ahorsecarrying ajewel.This imagetogetherwithvariousmantrasarerepresentedonfivecolored prayerflagswhichare put up outside in thewindwhere theirvitalenergyisdeveloped and reinforced.

Avalokiteshvara KorwaTongtrugL.8.000US$5.50Thispractice is a terma discovered by themasterAdzamDrugpabelonging to the cycle The secret treasureof thevajraofclearlight.The lineage ofthispracticegoesback toVairochana,YesheTsogyaland Gum Padmasambhava andwas transmitted toChgyalNamkhaiNorbuby his uncle,TodenOgyenTenzin, agreat practitioner and masterofDzogchenwhomanifested the bodyoflightinthe 1960s.

TheDakinisL.5.000 US$3.50Ashort explanation onDakinisand on their prominence intheDzogchenteaching.

TheGuardiansof theTeachingL.5.000 US$3.50Rinpocheoutlines theoriginofthe Guardians and thewayinwhichtheir images developed in the Buddhisttradition;thedifferences between varioustypesofGuardians;a descriptionof theprincipalclasses ofGuardians;the importanceoftheritualofthe Guardians and theDzogchenviewregardingthem.

BuddhismandPsychology(*)L.5.000 US$3.50Thisbook is,ratherthan a comparison between Buddhistphilosophyandpsychologicaltheory, afranktalkaboutseeing oneself, conditioning, Western minds and Easternminds,and the possible place ofpsychologyin thelifeofapractitioner.

Articles(*)L.6.000 US$4Thisbooklet is acollectionof articles byChgyalNamkhaipublishedin TheMirror, the newspaper of the DzogchenCommunityand contains advice on variousthemessuch asdaily practice, the relationship between "old" and "new"students,educating children and includes a talk explainingwhy the Dzogchen Community in different countries hasbeenbuying landandbuildingsinrecentyears.

2.Practicebooks

TunbookL.8.000US$5.50Short,MediumandLongTun,Chdand Ganapuja

Collectivepractices

Lire10.000 US$6.50Newrevised editionofthesixcollectivepractices forspecialdays.

ThePracticeof NaragTongtrugTranslatedfromTibetanand editedbyA.ClementeLire10.000 US$6.50Instructions basedontheoriginaltextoftheNarag TongtrugpracticeaccordingtoAnuyogasystemcompiledbyChgyalNamkhaiNorbu.

TheBookof MudrasEditedbyPaolaMinelliL.25.000 US$17Al lthe mudras used in the practices of the DzogchenCommunityaredrawnindetailedsequence.Almosttwo hundreddrawings are accompaniedbymantrasand captions illustratinghand movements.

How toplaythedamaruin theChdpracticeEditedbyA.ClementeL.8.000US$5.50This system of notation on how to play the damaru isaccording to the instructions transmitted by ChgyalNamkhai Norbu.

3. YantraYoga

Teachings onYantraYogaEditedbyLaura EvangelistiL.15.000 US$10"....Thisteaching ofYantraYogawhichwas transmitted byGumPadmasambhava toVairochanais a methodlinkedtothe practice ofNgndzogGyalpo:"ngndzog"meansperfection, "gyalpo"meanssupreme.Thisis a practice ofnon-gradual transformation inwhichcertain practices ofYantraconnectedwithprana, channels, chakrasetc.are used...".

YantraYogaManualL.13.000 US$9Aneasy to consult booklet forthosewho alreadyfollowandpracticeYantra.It includes preparatory exercises,preliminaries and thefirsttwo groupsofasanasbasedonthe textofVairochana up-dated according to the teachings given byChgyalNamkhai Norbu.The booklet contains an introductionby the Master plus a series ofdrawingsillustratingdifferentpositions.

The25BasicYantras, the7Lotusesand theVajraWaveL.10.000 US$6.50This booklet, an extract from the translation by AdrianoClemente of theoriginalTibetan text byChgyalNamkhaiNorbu,is restricted tothosewho have received instructionsonYantraYogafromaqualifiedand authorizedteacher.

The EightMovementsof YantraYogaLire10.000 US$6.50Instructions on Nine Purification Breathings and on theEight Movements: an essential preliminary practice ofYantraYogatostrengthenand harmonize ourvitalenergy.

KumarKumariYantraYogafor ChildrenEditedbyCristiana De FalcoL.15.000 US$ 10YantraYogafor children, illustrated by Rinpoche himselfwithhundredsofstylizedfigures.Childrenrequirea particularformofYantraYogabecausetheirphysicalconstitution,their breathing and theirconditionare different fromthoseofadults.

4.VajraDance

Stepsof theVajraDance

L.10.000 US$6.50Thisbooklet isacollectionoforiginaldrawings of thestepsofthe Dance of theVajradrawn up byChgyalNamkhaiNorbu.It ispresented separately from theoriginaltext foreasy consultation.

ArmMovementsand Mudras of theVajraDancesEditedbyPrimaMaiL.10.000 US$6.50Newrevised edition of the manualwhichmainly describesthe arm movements and the mudras of thethreeDances oftheVajra.Thisbook is intended forthosewhohave receivedinstruction on the Dance of the Vajra from a qualifiedteacher.

J. SantiMahaSanghaTexts

SantiMahaSanghaTranslatedfromTibetanand editedbyGiacomella OrofinoL. 15.000US$10

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B O O K L I S T S H A N G S H U N G E D I Z I O N I B O O K L I S T

Theoriginalroot-textoftheSantiMahaSanghaTraining.

SantiMahaSanghaPreliminaryPracticesofthe BaseTranslatedfromTibetanandedited byAdrianoClementeL.8.000 US$5.50Thisbooklet contains the verses of the Four Awarenesses,Refuge,Bodhicittaand the Four Immeasurables to be used

forthe BaseoftheSantiMahaSangha.

SantiMahaSanghaTrainingforBoysandGirls-BaseLevelTranslatedfromTibetanandeditedbyAdrianoClementeL. 10.000 US$6.50

TRANSLATIONSFROMTIBETAN

ChgyalNamkhai NorbuFromthe DepthofmyHeart tomy Mother(*)Translated and edited byA.dementeL.25.000 US$17WritteninLhasaat the age of19for his mother, this textisaclear and essential