And one also finds the usage of term ultimate and conventional also in relation to one's taking refuge or going for refuge in the Three Jewels. Here the term is used in the sense that what is ultimate refuge and what is relative refuge. And here the meaning of ultimate and relative refers to whether the object of refuge is ultimately liberated or released from the bondage of samsara or not, cycle of existence or not, whether that refuge has accomplished and attained all fulfillment or not. The meaning of ultimate and relative is that the object is liberated from samsara or not. For example, if you go to Shandong, Shandong is the capital of Xi'an. The object is liberated from samsara or not. The object is liberated from samsara or not.

[01:44]

Based on the presentation of two truths as we spoke of earlier, that is, taking the fundamental innate mind as the subject or object and then it being devoid of or it being coming into interaction with conceptual thoughts or circumstantial conditions. Since that fundamental innate mind has always retained its continuity, therefore it is devoid of such circumstantial conditioning, therefore it is spoken as emptiness or ultimate truth. Now because of that interpretation, based on this interpretation, there arose in the Tibet a view of emptiness where this fundamental innate mind, spoken of as ultimate truth, is taken to mean ultimately existing, it being independently existent and ultimately existing.

[03:27]

And this type of view of emptiness is called Shandong or emptiness of the other. And this view has been refuted by many different past masters of Tibet. But Khenchen Rinpoche told me that this view, what is known as Shandong or emptiness of the other, there are two interpretations, two different types. One is baseless or one has to be refuted. But there is other interpretation which could be more logical and understandable. In this view of emptiness of the other,

[05:05]

it has been refuted by many different past masters of Tibet. But in this view of emptiness of the other, it has been refuted by many different past masters of Tibet. Therefore, [...] in this view of emptiness of the other,

[06:14]

it has been refuted by many different past masters of Tibet. Therefore, in this view of emptiness of the other, it has been refuted by many different past masters of Tibet. If you find a text like Abhidharmakosha, a text on the Vipassana philosophy, and you find the mention of the term ultimate truth and conventional truth, it is very dangerous to try to understand the meaning of that term from the point of view of Madhyamaka Prasangika. There is no way you can do that. So, the correct way in understanding those references of term is that if you find any term such as true truths and so forth in the text of a lower philosophical school,

[07:18]

in that you can understand it in its own right. But if you find the same term being used in a more advanced or higher philosophical schools of thought, then it is very important for you to examine whether the meaning remains the same, which is common to both schools, or does it have a unique meaning in that particular context. The same is true when you find the terms like ultimate truth in the tantra, for instance, like highest yoga tantra. When you come across that term, first you should examine whether the meaning of that term in that particular context is the one that is common to both sutra and tantra, or does it acquire a different meaning in that different context. The same is true of the term ultimate truth when it comes in the context of Dzogchen practice. At that point you should examine whether the meaning retains the common meaning that one finds in the sutra and other tantras,

[08:19]

or does it have a different meaning, unique to the particular context. So it is very important to examine what the reference of these terms are. What is the meaning of the term ultimate truth? Then you can see that the Tengu are not afraid of anything. They are not afraid of anything. So, Tengu are not afraid of anything. Now, we're speaking about the two truths from the point of view of the human being.

[09:21]

Madhyamaka Prasangika, which is the understanding of two truths that is common to Sutra and Tantra. Here, as I spoke earlier, the definition of two truths are any phenomena or thing that is established through an analytic process of examining the ultimate reality of things, that is, ultimate truth, or any phenomena that are established as a result of an analytic process, examining only the conventional nature of things. These are called related truths. This definition of the two truths are presented from the point of view of how both conceptual and non-conceptual states of mind perceive things. But if we were to give the definitions of ultimate truth and conventional truth purely from an experiential point of view, non-conceptual, the manner in which non-conceptual awareness understands things, then

[10:23]

one could give the definitions that any phenomena or thing that becomes an object, that when perceived by a direct experience, is perceived in a very non-dualistic manner, where at which point all the duality of subject and object and dualistic appearances are dissolved, that object is ultimate truth, whereas any object when directly perceived still retains objectivity or subject and object dualism that is conventional truth or relative truth. Now the understanding of these two definitions of the two truths is important

[12:11]

in understanding the opening quotations from the sutra that I made, that is, the mind is devoid of mind. The meaning of that quotation, mind being devoid of mind, if we interpret it and take it very literally at its face value, then it would be totally illogical. We would have to maintain that mind doesn't exist as a mind, but this is not the case. Now the reason why Buddha spoke mind being devoid of mind is that mind does not exist on its own right. Mind does not have ultimate existence. Mind exists only in dependence upon other factors, causes and conditions. So that absence of independent existence of mind is the ultimate reality or ultimate truth of mind. Now here when we use the term ultimate, it has two connotations. One from the point of view of how a mind is perceived by an indirect experience, and because mind is not an object

[13:18]

of a direct experience which realizes the ultimate nature of mind, because when you realize the ultimate nature of mind, that awareness only realizes the emptiness of mind and not the mind itself. So therefore from that point of view, mind is not an ultimate, and also mind is not ultimately existent in the sense that it lacks independent nature. But if you take the ultimate reality, the emptiness itself, then we will find that

[14:21]

emptiness is a phenomenon that one finds as a result of an ultimate analysis upon a given object or given subject. Therefore from that point of view it's ultimate, therefore it is called ultimate truth. But if we take ultimate as an object on its own right and then examine it, search for its essence, whether emptiness also exists objectively, independently of things and so forth, then we will find that it is not to be found in such a manner. This indicates that emptiness is also not ultimately existent. So through that understanding we will be able to reconcile the seeming contradictions when we say that emptiness is our ultimate truth, but at the same time it's not ultimately existent. So we will be able to reconcile the seeming contradictions between the two statements. So all these phenomena that appear to our mind and exist in the universe, including our mind,

[16:07]

including the mind itself, all of them, since they depend upon their causes and conditions for their arisal, they have this nature of being dependent. Because of this dependent nature and their lack, they are devoid of an independent existence. They cannot exist on its own right from their own side. So this absence or this negation or this absence of independent existence is the ultimate reality or ultimate truth of all these things. The ultimate truth or emptiness as presented in the writings of Madhyamika,

[17:23]

schools of thought such as Nagarjuna's Madhyamika Mulakarika, the text called root text on wisdom, or the supplement by Chandrakirti, supplement to the middle way, Madhyamika Avatara, the ultimate truth or emptiness spoken of in these texts are a type of phenomena called negative phenomena, in the sense that when phenomena is divided into two, these are affirming phenomena and negative phenomena. And negative phenomena are, although in certain texts there are references to 15 types of negative phenomena, but these could be eventually classified into two broad categories, these being non-affirming negative phenomena and affirming negative phenomena. And emptiness is a non-affirming negative phenomena.

[18:29]

Now this division of phenomena into two categories, affirming phenomena and negative phenomena, I think negating phenomena are not made, this division is not made on the basis of things which are positive and things which are negative, but rather from a subjective awareness point of view, how do we experience things, how do we develop the knowledge of things. There are certain things like, for instance, let us speak of space. Space could be understood only in a very negative way, in the sense that space could be understood only as an absence, absence of obstruction, absence of form, that absence of obstructive quality is called space. So whenever we experience space, we experience it through negating obstructive quality. So there are certain things which we could understand without having to

[20:25]

explicitly negate something. So it is on this basis of subjective experience we make two divisions, things which are negating and things which are positive or affirming. For instance, on my side table there is a flower. In order to perceive that there is a flower, we don't require any other, we don't require any other faculty like having to negate something, that there isn't other phenomena, but rather the appearance of flower that is given to our

[21:32]

perception, enables us to perceive the presence of flower on my side table, whereas on my front table there is no flower. In order to perceive the absence, understand, apprehend the absence of flower on my table, first of all I have to identify flower, which is to be negated, and then by explicitly negating flower on the table, I can understand the absence of flower on my front table. So we see that there are two different ways of understanding or perceiving things. So this mere absence, the total absence of flower on my front table, it is a phenomena which does not exist because we can perceive it, we can understand it. So if you were to question what is the presence or absence of flower on my table,

[22:59]

absence of emptiness matters to us, the answer is it doesn't. The fact that there is an emptiness doesn't make any difference to us. What does it make difference to us is through our understanding, through our realization of the empty nature, that realization and awareness of the empty nature would matter to us. And understanding, the importance of understanding and realizing emptiness is

[24:10]

directly related to our pursuit in purifying our mind from negative emotions like hatred, anger and desire. Because generally speaking, when things appear to our mind, when we perceive things, our perception is diluted, we project on things a status of existence, mode of being which is not there, we exaggerate things. And that false appearance to our mind gives rise to negative emotions. For instance, when we see our enemy or friend, we superimpose upon our friend or enemy a status of desirableness or undesirableness that is beyond the actual fact on the thing. And this kind of superimposition and exaggeration leads to very fluctuating states of emotion within our mind like towards our friend we have strong attachment and desire, towards our enemy we have strong anger and hatred which arises from this misconceived notion. So if we are

[25:18]

serious in trying to purify our mind from these negative emotions, then understanding of emptiness becomes very crucial and important. This understanding of emptiness, when it's furthered and advanced and reached a direct

[26:37]

experience, in the sense that when you have direct understanding of emptiness, direct realization of emptiness, that realization of emptiness is one of the principal factors of the true path. And that direct realization of emptiness will also have the power to serve as a direct antidote in overcoming and dispelling these ignorance and negative emotions from within our mind. And when this antidotal factor, this direct realization of emptiness is further advanced, then it will gradually remove these delusions and also ignorance from their root, from our mind. So according to the philosophical systems of Nagarjuna and his followers, this realization of

[28:50]

direct realization of emptiness as antidote, actual antidote for overcoming and removing delusions from one's mind is crucial and indispensable factor of wisdom, not only for the practitioners of Mahayana or Great Vehicle, but also for the Sravaka Vehicle and the Solitary Realizers, the Pratyagraha Vehicle. And in fact, this realization of emptiness is a common requirement for all of these, for the attainment of liberation for all of these three different types of spiritual practitioners. And the distinguishing feature of Mahayana practitioner has to come from the factor of method, from the aspect of method, from the skillful means, from the richness of skillful means employed in one's spiritual pursuit, not so much from the wisdom factor. Although in the writings of Mahayana Sutras,

[29:51]

the doctrine of emptiness is more elaborately and explicitly mentioned, but that doesn't mean that emptiness is never spoken of in the Hinayana teachings. Nagarjuna maintains that there are explicit references to emptiness in the Hinayana Sutras as well. Since, in the respect of wisdom, there is no difference between the three vehicles, so the difference has to come from the method aspect. Therefore, the generation of a genuine bodhicitta, altruistic aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all, that altruistic aspiration is said to be the gateway that distinguishes, gateway to the Mahayana path,

[30:53]

and that distinguishes a practitioner from Mahayana and not. Now, when a practitioner is initially motivated by that kind of altruistic principles, ideals, to work for the benefit of all sentient beings, when that principle and ideal is put into proper action, put into practice, then the practice of the six perfections comes. Hm? Bodhi Chitta or altruistic aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all could

[32:18]

be defined as a state of mind that is attained as a result of training in two types of wishes or aspirations. One is an altruistic aspiration to be benefited to all sentient beings, which is like a compassionate attitude, and the second one is the conviction that one derives through reflecting upon the nature of all sentient beings, the conviction that so long as I do not attain the highest liberation or the highest enlightenment, I will be handicapped and I will be limited in fulfilling this aspiration. From such reflection, you will develop a strong aspiration to attain the complete enlightenment state for the benefit of all. Now that type of aspiration is called the Bodhicitta, or the mind of enlightenment. And also, if this direct understanding and direct realization of emptiness is motivated

[34:19]

only by the wish to attain liberation for oneself from the cycle of existence, then although it is possible to attain such liberation for oneself and to free oneself from the bondage of the cycle of existence and also from the delusions, but that alone is not enough, that alone is not powerful enough to free oneself from the imprints and dispositions left behind by the delusions within one's mind. This is technically known as obstructions to knowledge. Such overcoming of obstructions to knowledge could come about only by cultivating a realization of direct realization of emptiness, accompanied with the factors of skillful means such as Bodhicitta and compassion and so forth, by understanding emptiness, what is called the emptiness endowed with all the aspects of skillful means.

[35:20]

This means that one's direct understanding of emptiness should be accompanied by the factors of the skillful methods, that is, the altruistic aspiration to the benefit of all sentient beings, compassion and so forth. Through such meditation on emptiness, one would be able to not only release one's mind from the clutches of delusion, but also will enable the person to overcome the latent potencies and imprints and so forth left behind by the delusions. In this way, one would be able to not only release one's mind from the clutches of delusion, but also will enable the person to overcome the latent potencies and imprints and so forth, by understanding emptiness, what is called the emptiness endowed with all the aspects of skillful means, accompanied with the factors of skillful means, such as Bodhicitta and

[36:20]

compassion and so forth, by understanding emptiness, what is called the emptiness endowed with all the aspects of skillful means, accompanied with the factors of skillful means, such as The question then is, how do we develop and cultivate this Bodhicitta, mind to enlightenment, this altruistic mind? In this meditation, in this respect, the key or the root basic practice is to first of all generate a genuine compassion. And compassion here refers to a state of mind which makes you unbearable to see the suffering natures of other sentient beings. This could be developed through understanding how we ourselves feel about our own suffering. When we are conscious of our own sufferings, we have a spontaneous wish to be free of that suffering ourselves. And if we are able to extend that feeling towards all other sentient beings, from realizing

[37:22]

the sameness of all sentient beings, the commonality that other sentient beings do also have this instinctive desire to avoid suffering and overcome suffering. And if you, as a result of such reflection and contemplation, if you can generate a spontaneous wish that not only oneself but also all the other sentient beings be free of suffering, that type of mind is called great compassion. And the potential for developing that type of compassion is within us, because when we see people who are suffering, especially those who are close to us, we can immediately feel sympathetic towards that person. We have a spontaneous sort of response within our mind. Now only thing that we have to do is we have to try to develop that potential, bring out that potential and extend it so that it's impartial enough to include all sentient beings regardless of whether they are our friends or enemies and so forth.

[38:23]

So if we are able to extend and develop that kind of potential and extend that kind of spontaneous response to all living beings, then we will have achieved the great compassion. Now in order to develop and cultivate that kind of compassion, impartial compassion within

[40:09]

us, the great compassion, first of all it is necessary to develop what is called the loving-kindness, a feeling of closeness or intimacy with all living creatures. This feeling of closeness and intimacy should not be misunderstood with the kind of feeling that we normally have towards our loved ones, which is tainted by attachment, because that kind of feeling is based on attachment, the indication is that that kind of attachment is based on reasons which are egoistic, selfish, for thinking that they are my relatives, they are my friends, that person is close to me and so forth. Based on such reasons we feel close and intimate, but here when we are developing this loving-kindness we are not using that kind of selfish reasons, but rather trying to develop a feeling of closeness and intimacy and affection towards other sentient beings by reflecting upon the

[41:12]

very suffering nature of these beings and the helplessness of their situation, and the instinctive desire that these sentient beings have in overcoming suffering, and reflecting upon these states, then we should be able to develop a kind of a feeling of closeness and affection towards all sentient beings. Now, the greater the force of your loving-kindness and closeness towards other beings is, the greater the force of your compassion will be. The greater the force of your compassion will be, the easier it will be for you to develop a sense of responsibility, to take upon yourself the task to work for others. Now, the greater the force of that sense of responsibility is, the more successful and more quicker you will be able to generate bodhicitta, the genuine altruistic aspiration to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all. Now, the greater the force of your loving-kindness and compassion is, the greater the

[42:42]

The greater the force of your compassion will be, the easier it will be for you to develop a kind of a feeling of closeness and affection towards other sentient beings. The greater the force of your loving-kindness and compassion will be, the more successful and quicker you will be able to generate bodhicitta, the genuine altruistic aspiration to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all. The great force of compassion will be, the greater the force of your loving-kindness and compassion will be, the easier it will be for you to develop a kind of a feeling of closeness and affection towards other sentient beings, the genuine altruistic aspiration to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all. and secondly one important factor

[44:08]

for cultivating compassion is to develop a very deep insight into the suffering nature of life in the cycle of existence in general as a whole. Otherwise if your insight into the suffering nature of life in the cycle of existence is not deep enough then instead of generating feeling of compassion towards other sentient beings often one might feel a sense of envy and jealousy for people who one might think who is in worldly terms successful and wealthy and powerful and so forth. So if you have that kind of emotions this indicates that your insight into the suffering nature is not deep enough to really appreciate the enormity of the suffering, that the pervasiveness of suffering in the lives of someone who is caught up in this vicious circle of life and death.

[45:09]

And if your understanding of insight into the suffering is deep enough then you will develop a spontaneous sense of unbearableness for this state of life in the cycle of existence as a whole. Otherwise your cultivation of compassion will be a rather sort of hypocritical a state of mind although one might be saying that oh a compassionate towards all sentient beings one might be pretending to have compassion towards all sentient beings but deep down one might be envying and feeling jealous of people who are successful in worldly terms and so forth. And in short compassion, great compassion and genuine compassion

[46:27]

um genuine compassion is cultivated when you have two factors within your mind. These being a deep insight into the suffering nature of life in the cycle of existence in general and how a sense of unbearableness towards it. And then the second factor is realizing the commonality between oneself and others in having a natural instinct to be happy and overcome suffering and also having the same natural right to overcome suffering and enjoy happiness. And also exchanging oneself and others in the sense that although we are common and same in having that natural instinct and right but the difference lies in the number. When we are talking about one's own welfare it's a question of no matter how important one might be it's a question and matter of one single individual whereas others are infinite numbers. So from that point of view others are more important than oneself and these two factors of mind that is insight into the deep deep insight into suffering

[47:32]

and realizing others is more important than oneself these two factors of mind will give rise to a sense of responsibility to work for the benefit of others. This would lead to you to successfully generate a genuine compassion within you. So although it would be quite nice if you could do a meditation straight away on love and compassion at this point but it seems the time is up for taking a break and it seems some of you here are quite tired also. So we will take a break here and then during the next session after the question answer is over

[48:35]

then we will do a brief meditation on love and compassion. So from the questions the first question is how does an understanding of emptiness help to realize compassion and loving-kindness? Let alone a true knowledge of emptiness but even an intellectual understanding of

[49:54]

emptiness would enable you to perceive the possibility for a cessation of suffering and the delusions which are at the root of this suffering. Now once you realize that fact and if your conviction is strong enough then your compassion towards other sentient beings who are caught up in this confusion of cycle of existence will be all the more greater and powerful. So a genuine understanding, a true understanding or realization of the possibility of cessation comes through a genuine understanding of emptiness and that understanding of emptiness gives you a realization of an alternate alternative or a way out from the present confusion in this cycle of

[50:58]

existence. So you see that there is a way out. The next question is what if one has unbearable compassion for other beings suffering, especially animals because one sees this more obviously but has not developed the wisdom to deal properly with this? This is all the more reason why you should try to increase your wisdom, intelligence to deal with

[52:39]

situations after having developed that kind of a feeling of unbearable compassion towards others. This is the reason why Buddhist practitioners, Bodhisattva practitioners are not, Bodhisattva practitioners are encouraged not to be satisfied with the idealistic state of mind alone but rather to put that ideal into immediate practice. The next question is how can Dzogchen help us in our daily jobs and careers? So the next question is how can Dzogchen help us in our daily jobs and careers? So the next question is how can Dzogchen help us in our daily jobs and careers?

[54:26]

The only question is, in the first place it is very difficult to have such experience of Dzogchen, but otherwise once you have it, it can be definitely very beneficial in dealing with one's day-to-day lives, daily jobs, careers and so forth because that kind of experience would give you an ability to not to let yourself overwhelmed or overtaken by circumstances, be it adverse or positive. You will not fall into any of the extremes of being excited, overexcited or being depressed or so forth. Your attitude towards circumstances and events would be such that you would be like an observing person, an observing mind, not being drawn away by the circumstance. Like when you see a reflection of a form in a mirror, the reflection appears within the mirror and it's not projected from your mind. So when you confront situations,

[55:39]

your attitude towards others would be like, rather the appearance comes to your mind and there is no sort of projections from your side, there is no influence of conceptuality, there is no influence of objectivity from your side. So this helps prevent you from getting caught up in negative emotions like intense hatred, desire and so forth. When you are fully awakened in the state of Dzogchen,

[56:42]

it will be just like the mirror. When reflection is seen in the mirror, mirror doesn't have to go after the object that is reflected. It's just spontaneously reflecting in the mirror and since there's no attachment or agitation saying that, oh, now I have a reflection in my mind and what not, that's why you have got a tremendous relief. You're not occupied nor you are under the distress created by the reflection that is appearing there. So you'll be absolutely free. You'll remain absolutely nonchalant. The next question is, is the fundamental innate mind of clear light dependent on causes and

[57:48]

conditions? If it is not dependent, how can it be empty of independent existence? This is a very good question. Often in the texts one finds mentions of the fundamental innate mind of clear light being not produced by causes and conditions. Now here it's important to understand in general when we use the term produced phenomena, there are different connotations of phenomena which are produced by negative delusions and

[58:49]

negative actions which are propelled by these delusions of phenomena which are produced by circumstantial conceptual thought processes and phenomena which are produced by causes and conditions. Phenomena which are circumstantially produced by causes and conditions. In certain texts, the activities of the Buddha are spoken as permanent

[60:53]

and non-produced in the sense that they are continuous. So long as they are sentient beings, activities of the Buddha remain uninterruptedly. From the point of view of their continuity, unending continuity, they are sometimes called permanent. In the same manner, this fundamental innate mind of clear light, in terms of its continuity, it is beginningless and it is also endless. The continuum will always be there. Therefore, from that point of view, from the point of view of its continuity, it is also called permanent and non-produced. And also since fundamental innate mind of clear light is not a type of phenomena or experience which are only circumstantial in the sense that which come into being as a result of interaction between certain causes and conditions circumstantially, but rather it is an ever

[61:57]

abiding continuum of mind which is inherent within ourselves. Therefore, from that point of view, it is called non-produced. Although that is the case, we still have to maintain that fundamental innate mind of clear light because it has a continuity. Therefore, the present fundamental innate mind of consciousness, the present instance, comes from its earlier moments. And the same is true of the Buddha's wisdom, which perceives the two truths directly simultaneously, which is also a state of awareness or consciousness. Now, since Buddha's wisdom of omniscient mind which perceives both truths simultaneously and

[63:06]

directly is a state of awareness, the very factor that eventually turns into that kind of wisdom, which is fundamental innate mind of clear light, will also have to be maintained as awareness, a state of awareness. There is no way or no possibility of anything that is not in the domain of awareness or experience can eventually turn into a state of awareness. So from that point of view, fundamental innate mind of clear light is causally produced. The next question. Chagawa's training the mind in seven points teaches conventional bodhicitta and ultimate bodhicitta. How does Samantabhadra, primordial awareness, fit with this teaching? Samantabhadra

[64:46]

Generally speaking, the practices explained in the type of practice called training of the mind or thought transformation are explained mainly from the point of view of common approach of sutra path and tantric path. Therefore, in that particular text, Seven-Point Thought Transformation of Chagawa, the understanding of emptiness, the view of emptiness is expounded there. It's not from a Dzogchen point of view. But for a practitioner of this text, Seven-Point Thought Transformation, if the practitioner has understanding and experience of Dzogchen meditation, then one can certainly integrate that into the practice of that Seven-Point Thought Transformation. Given different meanings of meditation in Dzogchen and other practices,

[65:56]

why have you chosen to complete the Dzogchen teachings with Padmasambhava initiation? With respect to the earlier question, I would like to give you here an example. One of the greatest masters of Dzogchen practice, his main emphasis of the practice was

[67:04]

Bodhisattvachara Avatara. And that Bodhisattvachara Avatara is a text which outlines the principle Bodhisattva practices, mainly the training of the mind. And I'm definitely certain that when engaging into the practice of Bodhisattvachara Avatara, this great master must definitely be integrating those practices with his Dzogchen experiences. Generally speaking, for a genuine practitioner of Dzogchen, there are certain

[69:55]

prerequisites that should be met prior to engaging intensively into Dzogchen practice. These being having received complete empowerment into any of the highest yoga tantric deities, and also having been engaged in both the common and uncommon preliminary practices of Dzogchen. And then this should be followed by receiving a direct transmission or blessing from a living guru, blessing on the practice of Dzogchen. And the blessing or initiation being given the tomorrow is that of based on Padmasambhava. And this is in fact a practice similar to guru yoga practice, in which there are different types of realization of guru's body, realization of guru's mind, and realization of guru's speech. In Tibetan they are called kutub. So the empowerment being given is that of the Padmasambhava. The significance of that is

[71:22]

that the Dzogchen empowerment, Dzogchen teaching, the transmission of Dzogchen stems from, in order to engage into that practice, one needs to receive first of all a blessing of the transmission through uninterrupted lineage. And this lineage here particularly stems from Guru Padmasambhava, and then on to the lineage. This practice of Dzogchen is like a unique practice to Guru Padmasambhava's lineage. Because of that significance, the empowerment of Padmasambhava is given in conclusion to the teaching of Dzogchen. Longchen Ramjampa and Lama Mipham have expounded Shantung, emptiness of other,

[72:36]

as the view of Dzogchen. Do you agree with them? Why is Shantung such a controversial view among Tibetan Buddhist philosophers? This is very true. If we read writings of Mipham, the great scholar Mipham, especially his commentary

[74:03]

on Uttaratantra, he explicitly mentions the importance of understanding the Dzogchen view where one is able to combine the doctrine of emptiness as expounded in the wisdom sutras of the second sermon, and the sutras belonging to the third sermon, particularly the Tathagatagarbha sutra, the essence of Buddhahood sutra. The understanding of a combination of these two views expounded in the two sermons will enable one to understand what in Dzogchen terminology are spoken as kadag, the pristine purity, which is the main subject matter of the second sermon, and spontaneity, or hundug, which is the main subject matter of the third sermon. So the understanding of these two terminology could come from a combined understanding of the views expounded in the second and third sermons of Buddha's sutras. But this doesn't mean that the emptiness as spoken of in the second sermon, that is the wisdom

[75:33]

sutras, is the same as what in Dzogchen terminology is spoken of as pristine purity or kadag. But one thing which is very evident is that without understanding of the emptiness as expounded in the wisdom sutras, without taking that understanding as a basis, there is no way that one can speak about or understand the pristine purity or kadag in Dzogchen context. So the understanding of the emptiness as spoken of in Dzogchen is the same as what is spoken of in the wisdom sutras, but without taking that understanding as a basis, there is no way to speak about

[76:41]

or understand the pristine purity or kadag in Dzogchen context. So the understanding of the emptiness as spoken of in the wisdom sutras is the same as what is spoken of in the Dzogchen context. As for the question of whether the spontaneity that is spoken of in Dzogchen is synonymous with what is spoken of as the tathagatagarbha, the essence of buddhahood, or innate mind of clear light, in the third turning of the

[77:43]

wheel of the dharma, the third sermon, especially in the sutra called the essence of buddhahood, whether that is same or different, there does seem to be divergent views on that, even among the Nyingma meditators and scholars. But one view is that although there is a difference, but the eventual reference for the innate mind of clear light which is spoken of in uttara tantra, or that sutra, the essence of buddhahood, the eventual reference of that is definitely the rikpa awareness, or spontaneity that is spoken of in Dzogchen. But that doesn't mean that the explicit mention of the two terms refers to the same thing. The example is that in the yoga tantra, especially in the tantra called

[78:43]

Vairagyana Sambodhi, Adi Sambodhi, there is a mention of a rainbow body. Now, although one cannot say that that rainbow body is totally same, or synonymous to what is spoken of as illusory body in the highest yoga tantra, but the eventual reference of that rainbow body, if you understand in its deepest level, then eventually it will come to the understanding of illusory bodies. So, as I explained earlier, in the writings of Longchen Ramchamba, Jumipamba, and

[79:53]

Kuinchen Jigme Lingpa, these are the Nyingma masters, in their writings, although there is an explicit mention of the term xiantong, or other power, the emptiness of the other, here the reference is mainly to the fundamental innate mind, that is the rikpa awareness. This innate mind being empty of conceptual thought processes, so therefore this type of emptiness of other is totally different from the emptiness of other, or xiantong, which is being refuted, which was refuted by many Tibetan masters in the past. So, according to these masters, they maintain a certain view that when philosophically analyzing and examining the ultimate reality of things, emptiness should be understood in terms of

[80:58]

non-affirming and negating phenomena, but when emptiness is spoken of from the experiential point of view, then it should be understood more in terms of an affirming and negating phenomena. I think the reason for that statement is that when philosophizing and when setting forth one's philosophical position, one's view of emptiness, then one has to do so from taking into account the common viewpoints of sutra and tantra, the common views on emptiness doctrine, whereas speaking from an experiential point of view, it is done so more from one's understanding of emptiness in the context of tantra, highest yoga tantra.

[81:59]

And another reason for this, I think, is that in the practice of sutra and also the three lower classes of tantra, the special insight, the wisdom derived through special insight on emptiness, is always an analytic state of mind, a contemplative and analytic state of mind, and it is never an absorptive state of mind, whereas in the highest yoga tantra, a special insight into emptiness could be also an absorptive state as well. Now, according to the explanation of the New Translation,

[83:24]

the reason given for that uniqueness in the highest yoga tantra is that because of the force of the subjective mind which is being utilized, which is being employed in understanding emptiness, because that subjective mind is in the experience of great bliss, in the experience of a spontaneous great bliss, because of that faculty of great bliss, one attains such a unique power. And although in the Dzogchen practice there is no specific emphasis on the practice of

[85:11]

generating bliss within one's body by penetrating at vital points of the body, focusing upon subtle drops at certain points of your channels, like channel circles and so on, thus deriving the experience of great bliss, but this unique feature could also be found in Dzogchen meditation, because in Dzogchen practice, when meditating on emptiness, the state of mind that is being employed is not an analytic state, it's a basic state of mind which is retained or brought down in a very natural state, with no influence of holding onto, no influence of grasping at objectivity, while maintaining that faculty of attentiveness at the depth of your mind. Because of that factor, that unique feature of tantra, highest yoga tantra, is also present in the Dzogchen practice.

[86:12]

The next question, can you relate examples of the experience of clear light? There are different types of experiences that associate with different subtleties and different degrees of your experience of clear light. Generally speaking,

[87:43]

generally speaking, experience of clear light takes place when the dissolution, when the conceptual state of mind, the gross levels of mind and energies are dissolved. And in Dzogchen terminology, there are two different types of experience of clear light spoken of. Clear light experienced through the force of confusion, no, the ultimate experience of clear light, which is produced by the force of confusion, and ultimate experience of clear light, which is produced through the force of release, the power of release, or liberation. Now the earlier one, the experience of clear light that comes about as a result of confusion, refers to the experience of clear light that one undergoes during the stages of death, where the clear light is experienced uncontrollably

[88:56]

by the force of one's karmic actions and negative delusions. Whereas the second type of experience of clear light refers to the type of clear light experiences that one gains as a result of meditation and liberating one's mind from the delusions. So depending upon how deep your dissolution process is, there are different types of different levels of experience of clear light. Now, when the ultimate experience of clear light takes place, all the other types of consciousness, the six consciousness, the gross levels of mind, the sensory faculties, the sensory consciousnesses, and also the gross levels of mental consciousness, these are all dissolved. And also the breathing process ceases. But one question which is not yet settled yet, or not certain yet,

[90:10]

is that whether there is still a very subtle functioning of brain, which is something that we might have to... That state? No. On that state, you are the main study? At that state, whether there is a subtle functions of brains or not, is something that we have to find out. We had this discussion with some scientists, brain scientists.

[90:39]

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