Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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!

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.

You don't often find written descriptions of the heart practices of Dzogchen. Traditionally it is passed between teacher and disciple under a seal of secrecy and its practice texts are closely held. There are good reasons for this, not the least of which that words can't begin to describe the path or fruit of these practices. Those texts that *do* give practice instruction are also typically quite impossible to understand or practice correctly without a teacher's guidance.

And so, a person hoping to skip preliminaries like ngondro, study and shamatha and get right to the pith instructions is likely to be disappointed by any book with Dzogchen in the title, including the books in this series.

If you are not that kind of person, and are working your way through the preliminary practices, you will likely find this book to be helpful. Drawn from years of teachings by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and other Kagyu and Nyingma meditation masters, and following the outline of "Light of Wisdom" it will help you understand what it means to take refuge and bodhisattva vows. And, as the editor, suggests, it is a book to be used alongside important traditional texts like Jewel Ornament of Liberation. As a bonus, the book includes a suggested study program that includes pointers to specific texts and commentaries that you might find helpful.

I saw the writings by Chokyi Nyima and Tulku Urygen. Two great teachers and worth something.
So II open the book and see a quote by Sogyal Rinpoche (page x) along with a lot of editorializing by Schmidt about the ignorance of the world. Then the book opens to another quote, "Those who follow the path of lust cannot attain the great way.."
And I remember that Sogyal Rinpoche was sued by his female students for improper sexual advances, including having them do strip teases, etc..
And I see writings of Chogyam Trungpa, the alcoholic who made new students strip in front of a group, among many other things.

I think it's time for a valid, honest people's spirituality which does not demean others and is not hypocritical. Reject those who purvey something which looks like the devil's rear end, if you pardon the Christian image.

For anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism, especially the teachings of Dzogchen, this is THE book to read. The compiler, Marcia Schmidt, has done an incredible job in bringing together in one volume the essential teachings from both the masters of the past and those teaching today. It is also fortunate that some of the Dzogchen teachers featured in this book are currently teaching in the West -- Thrangu Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche -- so these teachings can also be approached in person.

This book is a great gift to everyone who wants to understand the teachings of the Great Perfection.