The Practice of Dzogchen: Longchen Rabjam's Writings on the Great Perfection

A classic collection of writings on the meditation practice and theory of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, by the celebrated fourteenth-century scholar and adept Longchen Rabjam (Longchenpa). A classic collection of writings on the meditation practice and theory of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, by the celebrated fourteenth-century scholar and adept Longchen Rabjam (Longchenpa). This classic collection of texts on the meditation practice and theory of Dzogchen presents the Great Perfection through the writings of its supreme authority, the fourteenth-century Tibetan scholar and visionary Longchen Rabjam. The pinnacle of Vajrayana practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Dzogchen embodies a system of training that awakens the intrinsic nature of the mind to reveal its original essence, utterly perfect and free from all duality-buddha nature, or buddhahood itself. In The Practice of Dzogchen, Tulku Thondup translates essential passages from Longchen Rabjam's voluminous writings to illuminate and clarify this teaching. He also draws on the works of later masters of the tradition, placing Dzogchen in context both in relation to other schools of Buddhism and in relation to the nine-vehicle outline of the Buddhist path described in the Nyingma tradition. This expanded edition includes Counsel for Liberation, Longchenpa's poetic exhortation to readers to quickly enter the path of liberation, the first step toward the summit of Dzogchen practice.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Second Edition
PART ONE: DZOGCHEN IN CONTEXT
1. Introduction
2. The Three Outer Tantras
3. The Three Inner Tantras
4. Three Divisions of Atiyoga
5. Dzogpa Chenpo and Other Yānas and Traditions
6. Excerpts from the Lives of Dzogpa Chenpo Masters to Illustrate the Ways of Training in Dzogpa Chenpo
PART TWO: THE LIFE OF LONGCHENPA
7. The Life of Kunkhyen Longchen Rabjam
PART THREE: SELECTED WRITINGS OF LONGCHEN RABJAM
8. Summary of the Selections
9. Counsel for Liberation: An Exhortation to Pursue Virtuous Secular and Dharma Trainings in Order to Practice Dzogpa Chenpo
10. How Samsara and Nirvana Originate from the Basis as the Appearances of the Basis According to the Innermost Dzogpa
Chenpo Teachings
11. Karma of Samsaric Deeds, the Cause of Beings' Wandering in Delusory Samsara
12. Karma of Liberative Virtues, the Means of Liberation from Samsara
13. Philosophical View of Phenomenal Existents
14. Meditation on the Meaning of the View
15. Twenty-seven Courses of Training in Dzogpa Chenpo
16. Naturally Liberated Mind, the Great Perfection
17. Instructions on the Meditation on Naturally Liberated Mind, the Great Perfection
18. The Trainings and Attainments of the Five Paths of Mahayana
19. The Trainings and Attainments of the Paths and Stages of Tantra
20. Attainment of the Paths, Stages, and Visions of Dzogpa Chenpo
21. Attainment of the Result, the Buddha Bodies and Primordial Wisdoms of Buddhahood in Mahayana Sutras and Tantras
22. The Buddha Bodies and Primordial Wisdoms in Dzogpa Chenpo
Notes
Bibliography of Works Cited
Index

About the Author :
LONGCHEN RABJAM (1308-1363) is the most celebrated scholar and adept of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. A prolific writer, his works on the Great Perfection are still considered to be the most authoritative and comprehensive writings on the subject. TULKU THONDUP was born in East Tibet and educated at Dodrupchen Monastery from the age of six. In 1980 he came to the United States as a visiting scholar at Harvard University and for the past three decades has lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he writes, translates, and teaches under the auspices of the Buddhayana Foundation. His recent publications include The Healing Power of Mind and Boundless Healing. HAROLD TALBOTT is the cofounder of the Buddhayana Foundation, an organization in Marion, Massachusetts, dedicated to preserving and promoting the wisdom and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

Review :
“A treasure trove for all who aspire to have a deeper understanding of the unsurpassable tantra teachings. Now with the revised and expanded edition of this timeless classic—a must-read for all students of Buddhadharma who wish to study, understand, and practice the precious Great Completion—these invaluable teachings are further enriched. The peerless teachings of the Omniscient Longchenpa, who was Manjushri in person, and the masterful and insightful translation of Tulku Thondup give us fortunate students a masterpiece that illumines the quintessential, profound teachings of Dzogpa Chenpo.”
—Mindrolling Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche, author of This Precious Life

“Tulku Thondup Rinpoche has performed a service of inestimable value for all serious students of Buddhist thought. One of Tibet’s greatest philosopher-sages, Longchen Rabjampa, is here made accessible to the specialist and interested nonspecialist in a manner that is authoritative, comprehensive, and clear. This book fills a major gap.” —Matthew Kapstein, author of The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism

“Attainment of buddhahood is not about getting somewhere else or transforming ourselves into something else. Rather, it is about realizing and perfecting the fully awakened nature of our own mind. This nature cannot be attained by holding on to something tightly or seeking something externally but only by awakening the openness nature, the intrinsic awareness, of our own mind itself, as it is.”—Tulku Thondup, from the Preface to the Revised Edition