The Dzogchen Primer: An Anthology of Writings by Masters of the Great Perfection [Paperback]

Marcia Binder Schmidt (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 2002

The Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice known as Dzogchen (pronounced ZOG-chen) is a practical method for accessing the pristine, clear awareness that lies beneath the chatter and confusion of our daily thoughts. The Dzogchen Primer provides the keys for understanding Dzogchen and putting it into practice.

Marcia Schmidt, a long-time Buddhist practitioner, has gathered here the most accessible, down-to-earth writings published on this subject and has organized them into a study guide for the serious beginner on the Buddhist path. The collection includes writings from such well-known and venerable masters as Milarepa, Padmasambhava, Shantideva, Chögyam Trungpa, and Tulku Urgyen.

The concept of Dzogchen is said to lie beyond the confines of our beliefs, our intellectual constructs, our ordinary understanding. A Dzogchen master writes, "We need to dismantle our fixation on the permanence of what we experience. A normal person clings to his experiences as being 'real,' concrete, and permanent. But if we look closely at what happens, experience is simply experience, and it is not made out of anything. It has no form, no sound, no color, no taste, no texture; it is simply empty cognizance."

The Dzogchen Primer includes an informative editor's preface as well as two forewords by prominent Tibetan masters that provide fundamental background information that will be helpful to readers new to this subject. The book also includes short, descriptive guiding notes intended to assist both independent students and teachers leading workshops.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

(Tibetan Buddhism/Meditation)Dzogchen (pronounced Zog-chen), also known as The Great Perfection, is arguably the heart of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, and in this impressive collection Schmidt pulls together writings from historic and contemporary masters to facilitate study for serious, committed beginners and longtime practitioners. In 35 generally short essays, students can delve into topics such as Re-enlightenment and The True Foundation by recently deceased (1996) Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, who transmitted the complete teachings of the last century's three great masters and who has 10 passages here. They can also find more ancient voices such as the seventh century's Shantideva on the The Excellence of Bodhichitta, or Milarepa, one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, who lived 1,000 years ago, on The Song of Realization. This sequential manual is designed to aid individuals as well as Sangha or workshop leaders, and offers facilitator guidelines, a glossary, author profiles and a bibliography. This primer can help students without a teacher or meditation center, but the volume quickly points out that time in the presence of living masters is essential. Not a collection of academic ruminations, this important work also stresses application. As Ch^kyi Nyima Rinpoche says in the introduction, We do not need to let the teachings remain as mere words or ideas; we can put them to use in our own experience. This is how the buddha nature can be revealed, since it is already present in every one of us.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"In this impressive collection Schmidt pulls together writings from historic and contemporary masters to facilitate study for serious, committed beginners and long time practitioners."— Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (July 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570628297
• ISBN-13: 978-1570628290
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,165,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite a Dzogchen Primer, November 27, 2002

By 

R. Haigh (Cornwall United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dzogchen Primer: An Anthology of Writings by Masters of the Great Perfection (Paperback)

This is not so much a Dzogchen Primer as a Rangjung Yeshe Publications primer!
Rangjung Yeshe Publications is an independent publisher founded by and run by Marcia Binder Schmidt and her husband. The Dzogchen Primer is compiled and edited by Marcia Binder Schmidt and is mostly compiled from existing writings from the Rangjung Yeshe catalogue interspersed with a few (also existing) Shambhala texts. The Rangjung Yeshe catalogue is largely based around the writings and teachings of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and have a very definite style or `feel' to them. Although these writings offer a valuable contribution, they cannot be said to represent an encapsulation of Dzogchen (the editorial review which says "Schmidt pulls together writings from historic and contemporary masters" could wrongly give the impression that these are THE definitive writings).

If you want the definitive book on the subject of Dzogchen, you won't find it!
The Three Pillars of Zen of Dzogchen has as yet not been written. Until it has, you will have to patiently plough through some often very dense writings just to get the occasional glimmer of what is at the heart of the Great Perfection. The Crystal and the Way of Light by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, The Golden Letters by John Myrdhin Reynolds, and Rangjung Yeshe's own As it is Vol 2 by Tulkhu Urgen Rinpoche might be a better starting point than The Dzogchen Primer.

As a Rangjung Yeshe Publications Primer, five stars. As a Dzogchen Primer, three stars.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dzogchen or Mahamudra?, August 5, 2002

By 

Dean Pielstick - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dzogchen Primer: An Anthology of Writings by Masters of the Great Perfection (Paperback)

The Dzogchen Primer is a nice collection of works compiled and edited by Marcia Binder Schmidt. The text compares Mahmudra, Dzogchen and Madhyamika as follows (pp. 175-176):

"According too the Mahamudra system, the means aspect is the Six Doctrines of Naropa, while the knowledge aspect is Mahamudra practice itself. These two are called the path of means and the path of liberation. By unifying means and liberation, we attain true and complete enlightenment. In the Madhyamika system, the Middle Way, the means aspect is relative truth; the knowledge aspect is ultimate truth. It is by unifying these two truths that we attain true and complete enlightenment. Finally, in the Dzogchen teachings, the means aspect is called 'spontaneously present nature,' while the knowledge aspect is called 'primordially pure essence.' By unifying primordial purity and spontaneous presence, Trekcho and Togal, we attain complete enlightenment."

This book takes the view that all three are the same in essence and nature, as do many sources. However, given the above comparison, the text is written from the Kagyu perspective with an emphasis on Mahamudra (rather than Dzogchen as one would expect from the title). In the Kagyu tradition, there is a heavy emphasis on the ngondro or preliminary practices, proceeding one step at a time. (In comparison, many Nyingma and Bon Dzogchen sources available in the West treat Dzogchen as a complete path in itself, although the preliminary practices are considered to be useful support activities.) Following the Kagyu outlook, the text begins with a few nice chapters on "the view" (basically the same in all three traditions) followed by many chapters on the preliminary practices. Authors include such noteworthy sources as Padmasambhava, Patrul Rinpoche, Shantideva, Milarepa, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, among others. It is a nice collection and shows some of the diversity of perspectives within the otherwise unified tradition.

Still, for a book entitled The Dzogchen Primer, one should note that the title is quite misleading. There is virtually no discussion of the Trekcho or Togal practices of Dzogchen. Readers expecting to find a book on Dzogchen practices are likely be disappointed. Readers interested in the preliminary practices or the Kagyu Mahamudra perspective, on the other hand, will find it a very nice addition to their collection. Had it been entitled The Mahamudra Primer, I would have given it 5 stars!

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Vajrayana vs. Dzogchen Primer, September 20, 2004

By 

Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dzogchen Primer: An Anthology of Writings by Masters of the Great Perfection (Paperback)

This book addresses basic preliminaries for Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism). It contains precious little Dzogchen--barely mentions Trekcho or Togal (primary Dzogchen processes). It doesn't even include some of the best approaches to Shamatha or any real exposition of Vipashyana (see Thrangu Rinpoche's other books for this). It also ignores Tonglen and Chod (excellent Vajrayana techniques, though not themselves Dzogchen either). Primarily it seems to be an apologetic for culturally specific Tibetan practices such as 100's of thousands of prostrations (I'd rather do Chod). It fails even as a primer. It is difficult to find a single book with the breadth and depth of Dzogchen (but, try The Practice of Dzogchen by Tulku Thondup). I think this book is misleading and of marginal value.