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Roaring Silence: Discovering the Mind of Dzogchen Paperback – December 3, 2002

by Ngakpa Chogyam (Author), Khandro Dechen (Author)

27 customer reviews

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According to the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, Dzogchen is the direct experience of enlightenment. In Roaring Silence, Vajrayana teachers Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen walk the reader through the meditation techniques that "enable us to side-step the bureaucracy of intellectual processes and experience ourselves directly"—to discover this direct experience of enlightenment that is the mind of Dzogchen.

Surprisingly, the approach is very pragmatic. Offering an investigation of the necessary steps, the authors begin with how to prepare for the journey: the lama is essential; as are a sense of humor, inspiration, and determination. They continue by describing the path of Dzogchen from sitting meditation to the direct perception of reality.

The chapters include exercises for sharpening the presence of our awareness, for simple visualizations, and for investigating how to "remain uninvolved" with mental activity for a period—with follow-up guidance on how to view our experiences. Both practical and inspirational, the authors' exquisitely precise guidance is all presented with the caveat, "be kind to yourself, don't push yourself beyond your limits."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The authors, husband and wife, are both Westerners who teach meditation and other spiritual practices of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Here they discuss the four traditional meditation practices (in Tibetan, Naljors) for achieving Dzogchen, i.e., utter totality. Readers conversant with Buddhism (especially Zen) will find much that is familiar, but this is no dry doctrinaire treatise. The authors have a pleasant conversational style and a lighthearted approach to religious practice. They strive to make Buddhist spiritual ideals intelligible to Westerners. Each chapter consists of a brief discussion, followed by some typical questions and answers. Specific meditation exercises are included. The text, however, frequently uses technical Tibetan religious terms without giving good definitions; a Tibetan glossary and cross-index to other Buddhist traditions would have been valuable. Thus, this volume will probably not appeal to casual readers. Nevertheless, it is recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with substantial religion collections. James F. DeRoche, Alexandria,
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Readers conversant with Buddhism (especially Zen) will find much that is familiar, but this is no dry doctrinaire treatise. The authors have a pleasant conversational style and a lighthearted approach to religious practice. They strive to make Buddhist spiritual ideals intelligible to Westerners."— Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (December 3, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1570629447
ISBN-13: 978-1570629440
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 27 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,254,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1161 in Tibetan Buddhism (Books)
- #982 in Buddhist Rituals & Practice (Books)

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Bruce Berrien

Excellent place to begin

September 2, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is the best introduction to Buddhist practice I have found. It is inspirational and pragmatic, practical and highly accurate.

Some manuals give instruction in one type of meditation and leave it at that, apparently assuming that one size fits all and one approach will do for all situations. Others give descriptions of a variety of techniques with little guidance as to when or how to choose. Roaring Silence gives a progressive approach that will take the reader through several types of meditation and best of all, will enable the reader to know how to handle obstacles, decide when to move on and which practice to move on to. This approach is itself empowering.

I give this book to my friends who are interested in starting a meditation practice.

7 people found this helpful

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David Flanagan

Introduction to meditation, Dzogchen style

November 15, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is so clear and practical, I would recommend it to anyone interested in starting the practice of meditation. It is essential instruction for anyone interested in the practice of Dzogchen. The authors provide a guide to the preparatory practices for Dzogchen--the four naljors. Read it, but more importantly, follow the instructions, do the exercises, and experience for yourself how they can help you work with your mind. Once you've tasted that experience, you'll want to work with an authentic teacher to guide your practice.

13 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

June 23, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Most amazing creative book on Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen meditations.

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Johannes Foufas

A great introduction into Dzogchen meditation

September 22, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you are interested to learn to meditate then this is the book for you. It is easy to follow and includes nine sitting exercises that are explained throughout the book.

This book includes preparatory practices for Dzogchen and gives a glimpse into Dzogchen itself.
I have read numerous books on Dzogchen but never have I found a more simple and easy to follow introduction into the actual practice.

11 people found this helpful

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John P. Painter

A difficult and frustrating attempt at something so simple

May 6, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I will forever be baffled and saddened by the Tibetan Buddhist sycophants who insist upon obscuring the beautiful simple methods of Dzogchen for those who could truly benefit from its methods (the general public) by long winded introductions using Tibetan terminology that the average person cannot comprehend or wants to! As a practitioner I beseech and challenge you who can write to produce a book that shows others the grandure and simplicity of the path without all the pedantic long winded jabberwocking.

6 people found this helpful

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Monkey

An excellent book on the practical techniques of Dzogchen.

February 10, 2018

Format: Paperback

This is, so far, the only Dzogchen manual that fully laid out the fundamental practice/techniques of dzogchen in English, that I've been able to find, in a highly understandable way without too much of Tibetan's cultural overlay inhibiting a clear understanding. It does use lot of Tibetan terminology, but it explains the meanings so one can follow along relatively easily if you already have a background understanding with classical Buddhism.

I've read a number of other books on Dzogchen (or in many cases, slogged through) in an attempt to discern, specifically, what the corpus of practice entails in its very essence. Once you know the essence of something, everything else just fits into place. But unfortunately many books left only a partial understanding, with essential particulars omitted. Why that was, I'm not entirely certain. My other favorite book on Dzogchen, "Our Pristine Mind", only details the lha-tong technique.

A number of years ago, I stumbled upon "lha-tong" quite by accident, when, for several years, I decided to just sit and be aware of the present moment experiences with eyes open. I had an amazing and intense ride, but realized in short order that thoughts were becoming extremely unbridled and the present moment was eluding me in each sitting quicker and quicker as intense thoughts stole away with my awareness. So I began adding in different techniques I'd learned over the years to produce stability: kriya yoga pranayamas, mindfulness of breathing, focusing the eyes on a stable point, mantra. They all worked a little bit, but as I can see now, my practice was wholly unbalanced, with "shi-ne" or tranquility comprising about 10-25% of my meditation time, and with what would've been called lha-tong comprising the rest of the 75-90%. I eventually gave it up. As the old Zen masters used to say, "Too much tranquility leads to dullness, stupidity, and wasted dharma; but too much clarity leads to aggressiveness and infatuations." Which is exactly what was happening over time. People loved being around me for my brilliant clarity cutting to the core of ideas and snappy wit and humor, but I was increasingly biting at the heels of others' happiness for my own egotistical boost of intellectual superiority. My infatuations were also leading to outright addictions after 5 years. Thankfully, I don't have an addictive personality, and it was just a consequence of created conditions. I quit practicing my open awareness meditation technique (which I still didn't have a name for and could find no information on until the last couple years when I came to associate it with Dzogchen/Mahamudra) and switched to tranquil cultivation. I discovered the bliss states of jhanas came relatively easily for me if I just maintained a very simple and consistent routine over a period of 1-2 months. But each time I moved into the jhanas, something was always missing, and I couldn't discern what it was. I'd let go of my addictions and found peace in tranquil absorptions, but I was becoming increasingly withdrawn, antisocial, and incapable of all but basic and difficult socialization. This went on for 4 years, and my friends, bless their hearts, stood around waiting for some semblance of the 'old me' to return all that time, accepting and tolerating my deteriorated intellectual condition. In the past 6 months I slowly started adding open awareness-style practices back in with my tranquility techniques, trepid that I might become the person I didn't want to be, and still not entirely certain if there was any validation in these techniques as a real path that led to enlightenment. Then, through some happenstance, I came to discover the techniques were related to dzogchen, mahamudra, and possibly zen, so I began my studies of integrating my old life of clarity with my new life of tranquility in earnest. Zen instruction and methodology turned out to be impossible, and I found "just sitting" and not doing anything else to be not only beyond understanding, but also beyond practice. I also became disenchanted when I had realized that many westerners who were attracted to zen ended up having to mix other non-zen techniques with their practices in order to make any progress at all. Taboo of taboos in Zen, even mentioning the word "progress" with "zazen" is met with complete derision. And those who held staunchly to the orthodoxy often exhibited stiff and highly aggressive personalities. It wasn't for me, so I kept going.

"Our Pristine Mind" seemed to present only the old path I'd already taken, which I didn't want to go down again. Roaring Silence had been on my radar for a long time, but I hadn't actually borrowed it from the library until last week. It's an easy and quick read. The text is extraordinarily lucid in its explanation. Clean, clear, uncontrived. While it uses essential parts of Tibetan culture to relay a comprehensive understanding of the topics, it isn't mired in them the way many other Dzogchen books are (one thing I also loved about "Our Pristine Mind.") It also details the path and the techniques of Dzogchen in a simple way that's accessible and understandable, fully. Till now, I'd thought Dzogchen was just uncontrived present moment awareness, and while that might be the case in essence, the practice is far more traditionally Buddhist - tranquility and clarity - using the most sublime, simple, and natural refinements of both to uncover it.

The only criticism I had is that, for me, the Q&A's didn't add anything to the text. In many case, I found the questions that people were asking to feel like a detraction from the material.... The way people ask superfluous questions, greedy for more details, when they've already been given everything they need to complete the job. But I recognize everyone has different levels of understanding that need to be worked with.

I have a deep sense of gratitude towards the authors for their contributions to the human race.

5 people found this helpful

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Ed Z

Roaringly great book

September 1, 2012

Format: Paperback

This is the best book I've seen/read on the art of meditation. It gives someone who is a complete beginner all of the basics while also providing the flavor of complete path. As someone who has been meditating for nearly 20 years I still consider myself a beginner in most ways. Ngakpa Chogyam paints the picture of the practice so that depending on who is reading/viewing it, they will see what they are ready to see. A beginner will learn the basics with a flavor of where the practice leads. The seasoned meditator may get a stronger sense of the view of the Dzogchen path while at the same time refurbishing the foundation of their practice.

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