Draft Study Guide To Long Chen Rab Jam Meditations
Draft Study Guide To Long Chen Rab Jam Meditations
The Meditations of
Longchen Rabjam
A Guide to the
Four Chog Zhag and
Three Samadhis
of the
Chying Dzd
LearningKeys.com
P.O. Box 750681
Petaluma, CA 94975-0681
U.S.A.
Peter F. Barth 2013
Contents
Foreword ............................................................ 9
Dedication ........................................................ 10
The Verses of Longchen Rabjam ...................... 11
Preface ............................................................. 19
Instructions for Using this Meditation Guide .. 28
An Overview of the Chying Dzd ................... 37
Select Terms and Phrases as Explained by
Longchen Rabjam ............................................ 64
A Prelude: The Mountain Chog Zhag According
to Jigme Lingpa ................................................ 89
The Four Chog Zhag and The Three Samadhis Introducing Verses 1 and 2 .............................. 98
Meditation 1 - Understanding and Applying
Key Instructions in the Root Text ............... 100
Meditation 1 - Excerpts from Longchen
Rabjams Chying Dzd Commentary ........ 111
Ocean Chog Zhag - Introducing Verse 3 ........ 118
Foreword
One of the most renowned presentations of Dzogchen
is given in Longchen Rabjams Chying Dzd. This text
gives clear instructions on how to develop the view
and practice the meditation of resting in the nature of
awareness. Studying and practicing these meditations
will be of great benefit to everyone who encounters
these instructions.
Dedication
To the rebuilding of the Center for Higher Buddhist
Studies (Shedra) of Thrangu Monastery of Tibet,
destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. This is the center
where Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, my root lama,
and many others were trained. An interesting
historical note is that Jamgon Mipham considered it
to be one of his centers, leaving a statue to it after his
death, and that he had prophesized that it would be
of great benefit to the Dharma and many sentient
beings.
Preface
The Four Chog Zhag and the Three Samadhis
represent the pinnacle of meditations of the Tibetan
Buddhist Nyingma lineage.
An Intoduction to the
Chying Dzd
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Homage to glorious Kuntu Zangpo.
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As for timeless knowing, at all times it is the selfessence of awareness, the mind of enlightened
understanding, free from objects. Also, it is free from
elaboration, description, and conceptualization. As
for dualistic mind, it is a knowing that grasps at
objects. The root of dualistic mind is timeless
knowing, and as for meeting up with or being in the
midst of it, since it is like the display capability or
radiance of timeless knowing, it is necessary to ensure
recognition of its essence at this occasion of timeless
knowing by looking! Not ensuring this is called
defilement. Since the essence of awareness and the
display capability have this particular distinction, one
can distinguish dualistic mind and timeless knowing.
An Aspect of Awareness Abiding as Timeless
Knowing and Essence and Its Display Capability as
Nondual
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(6) Finally, one may ask, How does one get true
stability in this and recognize it as such?
Here one excerpt is presented.
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The Four Methods of Resting Naturally and the
Three Samadhis set you under the protection of
awareness.
The Four Methods of Resting are the Mountain
Chog Zhag, Ocean Chog Zhag, Awareness Chog
Zhag and Appearances Directly Zhag.
The Three Samadhis are the Great Self-Abiding
Samadhi, Great State of Immediacy Samadhi and
Great Cast Seal Samadhi.
As for the Four Chog Zhag, their manner of
practice is in stages and joined.
The Three Samadhis are described by Longchen
Rabjam as being branch practices practices (yan lag)
to the Four Chog Zhag or the three limbs of them.
Know (shes) the view (lta ba), the manner (lugs) of the
Mountain Chog Zhag (ri bo cog bzhag). Rest loosely,
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(First Verse)
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It is necessary to put this into practice.
Right now (da res) it is necessary to
arrive at distinguishing (byed)
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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2.
3.
dharmakaya meditation.
mind resting in itself.6
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1.
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phog), nurture,
(bskyang).
maintain,
sustain,
practice
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Regarding this method, ones conditions do not
obscure awareness.
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Overview of the
Remainder of
Chapter Ten
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That the mind of enlightened understanding does not
waver from reality itself is demonstrated.
Practice Verses
(View)
(Action)
(Fruition)
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As for the fruition of the Uncontrived Chog Zhag,
Since one rests in the five sensory objects,
self-settled,
Inwardly, bare self-clarity is experienced
vividly and clearly.
Tulku Thondup Translation
in my being.
I pray for the blessing that realization of my mind
as unborn arises at once.
I pray for the blessing that bewilderment be purified
in its own place.
I pray for the blessing that all that appears and is
dawns as the Dharmakaya.
Mahamudra and
Dzogchen
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7-9$-/5,--+#-,<-<-{,-&+-0+-7-l,--8-;<-`-7"9:9-b9--:-/5+-9-[$-:
To this meditator,
simply settled in non-contrivance,
Notes
1
An alternate version of the root text has the word lhun grub
in place of lhun mnyam, so spontaneous presence (lhun grub)
may be understood in place of spontaneous evenness or
equality.
From Gendun Rinpoches Heart Advice from a Mahamudra
Master, translated by Jochen Kleinschmidt, Norbu Verlag:
Norbu Editions, Germany, 2010.
5
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