Customer Reviews

Heart Drops of Dharmakaya

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Written by Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (a Tibetan monk who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries) and enhanced for a western readership with an informative commentary by Lopon Tenzin Namdak, Heart Drops Of Dharmakaya is a complete Dzogchen meditation manual for the Tibetan religious way that is known as Bon. Written in the direct, personal, and meaningful style of instructor to student, Heart Drops Of Dharmakaya also features a commentary by Lopon Tenzin Namdak, a master of Dzogchen who was responsible for translating this holy work into English. Heart Drops Of Dharmakaya is enthusiastically recommended reading for advanced students of Tibetan Buddhism and its meditation practices.

The introduction warns that this book is not intended as a self-help manual. The biography of the author presented before his text indicates that his was a long and arduous path. I cannot say in what way Dzogchen has helped me, if at all, only that it fascinates me.

Book 1 (Preliminary Practices) poses some questions about consciousness that do not seem at all irrational or to depend of superstition or magic. I would expect a Westerner to feel comfortable with such questions even if Western philosophy and religion are unlikely to ask such questions.

Book 2 (The Practice of Trekcho) is a more advanced study of the material begun in Book 1 and might still seem comfortable to a Westerner albeit considerably more difficult to follow than the material in Book 1. The role of a teacher is emphasized increasinly as one moves to Book 2: I suppose one needs the skill to find and identify the right teacher.

Book 3 (The Practice of Togel) seems to be more to the shamanic side of Tibetan Buddhism, involving symbolism that I find hard to follow. It may be that the teachings in Book 1 and 2, which seem more accessible, have for that reason have less lasting impact. Working one's way through interpreting difficult symbolism may be of use.

Book 4 (Phowa and Bardo Practices) describe nearly full-blown shamanic views related to what is going on for us as we approach death.

Appendix 1 gives an eye-witness account of seeing the rainbow body that is supposedly seen when a Dzogchen master dies. So here too the shamanic side of Dzogchen is foremost.

The history of the Bon tradition remains to this date still not well understood. My expectation is that unless you are a scholar working to clarify the Bon tradition, you can treat this book like any other Dzogchen presentation (but with the big plus that this book was written after 1930 and its commentator Lopon Tenzin Namdak may still be alive. The comments are at the bottom of relevant pages and are non-intrusive).

There have been recent Western efforts to reduce or remove the shamanic aspects of Dzogchen, yielding a mindfulness teaching not unlike that of Theravada Buddhism's "choiceless awareness". There have also been Western studies (cf Samuels' "Civilized Shamans") that tackle the constructive value of shamanism to non-Western societies.

The Tibetan text of the book is actually included. Overall this is a book released with enormous care. The covers alone are striking, a blue metallic background with the front cover having a colorful Tibetan painting of deities.

Simply put, this book is easy to read, gets to the point and covers the material completely. Highly recommended!

I have read the book and its very nice, it gives you precious insights about enlightenment and liberation. The book speaks about the dzogchen way of reaching liberation using the powerful methods of trekcho, togel, and bardo teachings (including phowa practice). One interesting thing I discovered while reading is that you can reach beautiful intuitive insights about liberation. If you don't have a direct transmission from a teacher, this reading can introduce you directly to the enlightenment mandala that resides in your heart! May all sentient beings recognize our preicious state of rig-pa and develope in love for the sake of all creation!!

This is a very fine book on Dzogchen whether you are Buddhist or Bon or neither. It's clear, pithy, and lacking much of the dogma found in many other Dzogchen and Mahamudra books available today. It's strongly recommended.

The best dzogchen available on shops. You find the practice meditation, which is hard to find, because budhists write on dzogchen only filosophy, not Togal. Obligatory if you are serious about the matter. In Yoga Tantra, you have yidam, mandala, guru yoga, drops, winds, tunmo, etc. In Dzogchen you have gazing the stars, lights in the sky mixing with your crystal nadis, etc. Don't think twice: buy on the first. You will receive many many times each dollar.

This book is not for beginners or even intermediate practitioners. It contains practices which require personal instruction from a qualified teacher.