The vajra world

 

The vajra world is co-created by the Lamas and the students and the sangha.

p370, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Perception

To live the view is to be open in perception – open to seeing emptiness and form at play.  This is something which cannot be constructed and imposed.

p352, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Actualisation

Through having actualised the nature of the teaching, the Lama has the capacity to facilitate that actualisation in others.  Actualisation is the condition in which the teaching has become as real as the need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe.

p319, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

The Lama

Without the Lama, Vajrayana cannot function.  The Lama is the source of wisdom and method, embodying the divisionlessness of emptiness and form. 

p319, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Effortlessness

Pure appropriateness is an invisible dance in which one is transparent in terms of what is taking place.  there is an effortlessness that is not even named or differentiated from effort.

p237, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4 

Dynamically linked

Every state of mind, however distressed or distressing, is dynamically linked to the nondual play of the free elements.

p190, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Life is short

Life is short; it makes no sense not to plunge deep.  Plunge into whatever it is that makes life worth living.

p163, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

The same nature

When life experience seems most arduous or difficult, simply remember that your Mind is of the same nature as Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel.

p204, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

The illusion of continuity

Every moment is death. Every moment is birth. Death and birth flicker as cinematographic film flickers – and gives the illusion of continuity.

p198, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4 

Direct awareness

When all there is, is the felt texture of the canvas against the brush and the direct awareness of colour in motion – that is meditation.

p199, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Boredom marks the beginning of realisation

Once you develop experience of shi-nè, boredom is no longer boredom – it becomes a rolling wave of energy.  So, boredom marks the beginning of realisation.  Without boredom there’s no discovery.

p81, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Boredom

Boredom is a sign that: one is not alive to one’s senses.

p81, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Wind Horse

rLung rTa—Wind Horse—is enjoyment.  Enjoyment means to occasion or to engender joy.  Joy is upliftedness – the natural response to phenomena and to being alive.

p30, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Anarchy

Anarchy from the perspective of Dzogchen has nothing to do with rebellion or overturning the social order – one simply needs to ignore the rules of cyclic derangement.

p29, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Eventual death

Falling in love—if it is authentic love—betokens the eventual death of the ‘me project’.

p75, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

Enjoying their presence

Kindness is inseparable from appreciation and enjoyment.  If one likes people, one will be kind in relation to them.  One cannot like people without appreciating them – without enjoying their presence.

p67, Tracts of the Sun : An Earth Orbit of Vajrayana Expressions.  Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-898185-28-4

The interface with the sense fields

The arts are bodhicitta.  The connection is quite clear; especially when you look at the level of humanitarianism among artists.  Beyond that however, one has the interface with the sense fields as the arena in which bodhicitta communicates.

p176, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

An entire gestalt

Naming moments of inspiration as Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel is not a question of conceptualisation for a practitioner because Padmasanbhava and Yeshé Tsogyel are not concepts,  They are an entire gestalt, which is both conceptual and non-conceptual.

p166-167, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

Active compassion

Active compassion, changchub sem (byang chub sems—or bodhicitta), could be expressed as: appreciative empathetic appreciation.  The term changchub sem is vast, subtle, and infinitesimally varied in its meaning, according to the endless permutations of sentience dancing with phenomenal reality.

p114, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

All of my own making

My situation now—and in the future—would also be all of my own making.  The only realistic mental state was openness to the future – and to whatever the future held.

p340, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

Discovering the nature of reality

“ ... I made the distinction between Truth and reality.  I don’t see Buddhism as owning ‘truth’ – because Buddhism isn't a religion of ‘truth’.  It’s a religion of ‘method’ – and, its methods are ways of discovering the nature of reality.”

p177, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

The words of Dud’jom Rinpoche

I remembered the words of Dud’jom Rinpoche ‘With each life circumstance: whatever is enacted, stare directly into the enactment – with all the senses.’

p194, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

The mechanism of samsara

We do not get stuck in reference points.  We create them and suffer as they collapse and cease to be reference points.  All you can do is ‘be as open as possible to all possibilities’ whilst observing the mechanism of samsara as you play it out.

p81, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

 

Fleeting glimpse

We say ‘only a nyam’ because a nyam is not the nondual state, but one can experience the nondual state momentarily, and the afterglow of that is called a nyam.  This does not detract from there having been a fleeting glimpse of the nondual state.

p87, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7  

Open and embodied

Discovering the nondual state is not a process of internalisation.  We do not cut off from the external world.  Everything we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, or ideate is undivided from the nondual state – so, to be present, is to be entirely open and embodied.

p83, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

Freedom to manifest

When we dissolve shi-nè—and allow the natural energy of Mind to re-emerge from emptiness—we are not creating anything – we are simply allowing.  As soon as energy begins to re-emerge, all that is necessary is to allow that energy the freedom to manifest.

p52, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

Change the world

We can definitely change the world – but the problem is that we often seem unable to smile.  When chaos manifests in our lives we can smile – which is the cure for resentful confusion. 

p241, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7  

Obsessive relationship

To investigate the nature of thought – we need to use some capacity other than thought.  In order to discover what other means there are at our disposal to investigate the nature of thought we need to detach from obsessive relationship with thought. 

p48, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

A closed system

Thought cannot examine itself in any ultimate sense – it is a closed system.  Thought can no more examine its own nature than a knife can cut itself, or an eye see itself.  The only way an eye can see itself is to avail itself of a mirror.  The nature of that mirror—vis à vis thought—is the natural reflective capacity of Mind, which is beyond thought.

p48, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

Gazing

We can consider the possibility of gazing at the glittering surface of the ocean of Mind – at sun-light and star-light glinting.  Gazing is an openness which sees—with transparence— the nature of our relationship with reference points.

p43-44, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

Natural dignity

Warriorship is concerned with the development of dignity – our natural dignity.  Dignity only exists when our sense of appreciation is allowed to be as expansive as it inherently is.  This dignity and appreciation are innate – as is the ethos of Ling Gésar.  If we drop our overweening caution we begin to see whole situations unfolding – and in those situations we know exactly what is demanded of us.

p142-143, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7   

The self-astonishment of reality

All we need to do is gaze affectionately at the vivacious self-astonishment of reality.  We could gaze at what arises – relishing the immensity of that visionary dimension, in which we are all unremittingly self-celebrated in the vast expanse of the inner ying and outer ying.

p218, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

Haunted

We are all beginninglessly aquainted with nonduality, and therefore haunted by our ever present prior condition.  We all look for our ever-present prior condition, whether we know it or not.

p218, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

Transparent

No one can ever understand themselves.  All you can hope to achieve is to be transparent – and allow understanding to occur naturally.

p231, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7   

A natural function of Mind

It may come as a surprise that thought is not antithetical to the nondual state.  Thought is a natural function of mind.  Where nothing arises from emptiness, there is no energy – and, consequently, no clarity.  The reason for continuing in practice in order to arrive at a state without thought is that it provides the space to unlearn the neurotic relationship with thought. 

p50-51, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

Karma disappears

The actual meaning of karma is habituated perception and response – which is to say: how we interpret information, objects, situations, or persons dictates how we respond to them.  Karma disappears as soon as the perception-mind-of-karma disappears. 

p94, Shock Amazement: The four naljors and four ting-ngé’dzin from the Dzogchen series of the nature of Mind.   Khandro Déchen and Ngakpa Chögyam,  Aro Books Worldwide, 2018, ISBN 978-1-898185-45-1 

No one watching

It only becomes interesting when ‘nothing’ happens – when there’s nothing with no one watching nothing.  That’s what it takes to allow awareness to be what it is.  Our natural awareness only becomes evident when we let the structure of conceptual mind drop – and … it’s a long process because the habit of conceptual mind is well entrenched.  

p194, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

Anything could happen

Anything could happen.  To come to an understanding of my culture and my epoch – I had to be open to anything happening.  If I sheltered myself from the wilder side of existence – I would never be able to teach anyone to live as a tantrika in the West … when, eventually, the time came to teach. 

p147, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4

Mind would abide in its natural dimension

Dudjom Rinpoche said that one must keep one’s body in equanimous stasis in order that the spatial nerves would be in natural alignment – and the spatial winds unobstructed.  If the spatial winds were unobstructed, then mind would abide in its natural dimension where the spatial essences manifest as primal creativity.

p73, Goodbye Forever Vol. II, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books Worldwide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-898185-60-4   

rLung rTa

rLung is the wind principle – which is powerful and direct.  rTa means horse – the energy which can be ridden.  rLung rTa is a sophisticated energy, which is clean, decent, honest, honourable, and committed – a good horse which can be ridden with joy.  The situation resplendent with rising rLung rTa is fresh and exuberant – but only eminently rideable once you have mucked out, groomed thoroughly, and cared for the tack with assiduous patience.

p197, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7   

Authentic existential appreciation

rLung rTa is the cheerful uplifting quality which resides as a natural aspect of our lives.  One could define it as authentic existential appreciation.  It is spontaneously present and self-created as an aspect of awareness.  When rLung rTa is present—or if we wish to encourage rLung rTa—we give phenomena the attention they deserve.

p197, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Love what you wear

Our perspective on clothing is essentially concerned with promoting awareness and impeccability.  The principle is one of dynamic engagement with phenomena – as an aspect of pervasive bodhicitta.  You need to love what you wear in order to engage fully with being alive.  When you engage fully with being alive you shine as an example of joy to others. 

p191, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

An imposition on reality

‘Positivity’ is an imposition on reality.  You do not have to make reality positive in order to be happy.  You don’t have to do anything to be happy other than maintain open senses.  Just do what you have to do and remember to enjoy your senses.

p182-183, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7 

You will have no time for ‘unhappy’

Re looking at colours …  Include sounds, textures, fragrances, tastes, and ideational vectors and you will have no time for ‘unhappy’.  ‘Unhappy’ is what we create by turning off the senses.  It is possible to be happy by allowing the senses to be absorbed into the sense fields.

p180, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Observe the play

‘Your neuroses’ are not separate from the ‘you who wants to destroy your neuroses’.  As long as you cling to that bifurcation—non-dual realisation will elude you.  You have to accept the entire situation or it can never be transformed—let alone self-liberated.  This situation is all we have—and there is actually no other way to proceed.  We have to celebrate the situation as it presents itself—and simply, wordlessly, observe the play.

p170, Emailing the Lamas from Afar, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9653948-5-7

Spacious passion

Reality and the realised state reflect each other.  To actualise this knowledge at the level of experience is the goal of developing spacious passion.  Spaciousness without passion has no possibility of compassion as an interactive quality.  Passion without spaciousness becomes blind or blinkered obsession – a completely claustrophobic view that gives rise to highly limited and limiting activities.  

p102-103, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4 

Awareness-imagery

Every aspect of the awareness-imagery of Tantra has arisen through the spacious passion of vision.  ‘Spacious passion’ means the non-dual experience of wisdom and compassion (emptiness and form).  It is the active communicative quality that is indivisible from the experience of emptiness.  The word ‘spacious’ relates to the empty or unbounded aspect of the non-dual state.  ‘Passion’ relates to the energy, that spontaneously arises from the state of emptiness, in terms of infinite variety.

p101-102, Wearing the Body of Visions, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 1995, ISBN 1-898185-03-4 

Complete vibrant awareness

If you are successful in staring into the face of your emotions, then it is also possible to treat your pleasurable experiences in the same way.  It is generally easier to learn from sorrow than from joy; so most people are content to let happiness be, rather than to risk it in any way.  Real joy and well-being, however, are not threatened by the keenness of staring.  Radiance is based on taking insecurity as security, so if pleasure is real, it is experienced as complete vibrant awareness that extends itself infinitely outward to all beings.

p243, Spectrum of Ecstasy, Ngakpa Chögyam with Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 1997, ISBN 0-9653948-0-8 

Cutting through conditioning

Every time you try to stare into the face of an arising emotion, you confirm yourself in the practice of cutting through conditioning.  Even wanting to start is a success.  If you begin to practice you will experience a difference in your life.  The ultimate goal is always both very close and very distant; and when one day you come to realise that the path is the goal, the concepts of failure and success will no longer have any meaning.

p242, Spectrum of Ecstasy, Ngakpa Chögyam with Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 1997, ISBN 0-9653948-0-8

Sudden glimpses

There is no sudden breakthrough that remains forever – there are only sudden glimpses.  But the glimpses encourage us to see more until, gradually, we develop the ability to integrate these experiences of unconditioned being with the rest of our life.  The process of being total in the moment enables us to embrace our emotions; and, through doing so, to discover our beginningless enlightened nature.

 p241, Spectrum of Ecstasy, Ngakpa Chögyam with Khandro Déchen, Aro Books, 1997, ISBN 0-9653948-0-8