The Great-Perfection: Beyond Duality and Non-Duality The most fundamental teachings that point the mind toward freedom—the authentic, non-dual realization of the primordial state—are those of the Great Perfection (Atiyoga). In the root text, The Cuckoo of Pure Presence, it is said: The nature of the infinite variety of phenomena is without duality,since, each thing in…
Skillful Form – Understanding the Principles of View, Path and Result If our ideas regarding non-duality, and the ultimate nature of reality remain just ideas, then its not very useful, it must become the reality itself! When looking and examining a spiritual path how can we understand its approach and path? Whatever spiritual path we…
Breaking the Chain – The Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising Explained The Twelve-Links of interdependent Origination One of the most distinctive aspects of how living beings perceive the world is that it is made of discrete ‘things’ that appear and exist, and then dissapear. The issue of ‘existence’ – what does that mean, and do…
The Single Purpose of the Dharma: Discover the True Nature When looking at the spiritual traditions such as Buddhism, it seems that there are so many contrived elements, so much that seems to surround these ancient teachings. This can seem attractive to some, and it can feel like an obstacle to others. So let us…
Karuna: Beyond the Weight of “Compassion” “[Karuna is] the intention and capacity to relieve and transform suffering and lighten sorrows. Karuna is usually translated as ‘compassion’, but that is not exactly correct.” — Thich Nhat Hanh Karuna is central to the Buddhist path. Without it, the view and practice drift from the Dharma. Yet, as…
Searching for the Kingdom of Oddiyana The kingdom of Udyana (or Oddiyana) is considered as the historical source of many spiritual traditions and teachings of great importance. From Udyana have emerged the teachings of Buddhist Tantra and Mahasandhi (Dzogchen), and also many of the great accomplished saints and siddhas of the past have their origin…
Introduction to Dzogchen Atiyoga View and Teachings The spiritual tradition of the Great Perfection—known in Sanskrit as Mahāsandhi or Atiyoga and in Tibetan as Dzogchen—is an ancient path of non-dual realization. It originated with the Indian Mahāsiddha Garab Dorje (Prahevajra) in the legendary kingdom of Uddiyana, showing the direct means to point the mind toward its primordial state of freedom. The Ground: Our…
The Supreme Refuge – The Ground of Being The Meaning of Refuge: A Foundational Principle of the Buddhist Tradition What is the meaning of Refuge? In the Buddhist tradition Refuge is the central and foundational principle. In fact it is so important that in his great work ‘The Single Intent’, Jigten Sumgon said that the…