Teaching by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

THE MIRRORNewspaper of the International Dzogchen Community Nov./Dec 2004 • Issue No. 71

by Maurizio Piazza

In Tibetan Buddhism, theKalachakra is a very importantTantric cycle. It belongs to the

Anuttarayoga series, and moreexactly, the non-dual Tantras thatare considered to be the most eso-teric Tantras among Tantric teach-ings. According to tradition, Bud-dha taught the Kalachakratantramore than 2800 years ago in thekingdom of Shambala, a kingdomsituated in the south of India. Thekings of Shambala were consid-ered the principal guardians ofthis teaching. From the tenth cen-tury AD, the Kalachakratantraspread through India, and now itrepresents one of the last Tantricsystems in Tibet. This teachingoriginally came from the Sakyaand Kagyupa traditions; theNyingmapa tradition alsoreceived the teaching and dissem-inated it with the Rime move-ment. The masters of all traditionswere able confer this initiation,and despite the variety of lin-eages, the transmission was leftpure and uninterrupted.

According to the history ofthe Dharma, Sucandra, the Kingof Shambala, wrote theKalachakratantra root andannexed commentary. Thismonarch was considered the firstimportant pupil from the first ini-tiation of the Kalachakra.Manjusri-yashas was the first oftwenty-five Kalki kings(‘guardians of the caste’).Manjusri-yashas wrote the briefTantra of Kalachakra and his son,and heir, Pundarika wrote a com -mentary on it entitled: ‘Spotless

Light’.Cilupa and Kalachakrapada

the Elder then spread these textsin India. The short Tantra is divid-ed into five chapters: the firstdeals with the cycles of externaltime (cosmological, astrological,astronomical and historical) andthe second deals with the cyclesof internal time (physiological).The first refers to the universe;the second refers to the physicalbody. The subsequent three chap-ters deal with the alternativecycles: initiation, phase of gener-ation (skye rim) and phase ofcompletion (dzog rim). This isthe meaning of the wordKalachakra (in the Sanskrit lan-guage, ‘wheel of time’); throughthe knowledge of the variouscycles of existence (external andinternal) it is possible to obtainrealization.

In 1 970, H is H oliness t heDalai Lama spread this teachingfor the first time outside Tibet andin the Western world. The firstKalachakra initiation for theWestern world took place in1971, in the state of Wisconsin,USA. From that time onward, theKalachakra teaching has spreadthroughout the world. So, lastOctober 2004, in the DzogchenCommunity of Tashigar Norte, onthe island of Mar garita,Venezuela, Chögyal NamkhaiNorbu gave teachings about theKalachakra.

The Sarmapa and theNyingmapa traditions have theway of gradual Transformation incommon, but in the Vajrayanasystem there is also the instanta-neous transformation method

belonging to the Anuyoga vehicleof the Nyingmapa School.According to this method, it is notnecessary to know every detail ofthe yidam and its mandala per-fectly, but it is suf ficient to havean idea of it. Therefore we workmore with sensation, and instan-taneously transform ourselveswith the use of the principle ofinstantaneous s elf-perfection a sthe method of both the stages ofgeneration and completioninstead of gradual transformation. According to the gterma ofChangchub Dorje given at thisretreat, the first part of theKalachakra practice was trans-mitted in the Anuyoga style andthe second part according to theAtiyoga system. When we con-sider Atiyoga and Dzogchen, wenote the fruit of the Anuyogatransformation practice, but amethod apart is that of the methodof self-liberation. The practice ofself- liberation is to simplyremain in the knowledge of one’sown real condition and the pri-mordial state. This method, likeAnuyoga, belongs to theNyingmapa and Bön traditionsonly. In the Dzogchen teaching,all beings have the same poten-tiality of sound, light and rays,like the mirror that is able toreflect, so that when the sec-ondary causes are present, thiscapacity manifests. TheKalachakra is merely our primor-dial state with all its capacities,thus without any dualistic consid-eration, we try to remain in thiscondition and integrate.

The Anuyoga and Atiyoga Kalachakra RetreatTashigar North, Margarita Island, Venezuela

October 18 - 29, 2004

Schedule Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

2005 - 2006

2005ARGENTINAFeb.9 Tibetan Losar, Mandarava practice,Argentina

PERUFeb.18 - 20 Peru retreat

MARGARITA ISLAND, VENEZUELAMarch 4 - 6 RetreatMarch 9 - 10 Santi Maha Sangha Base Level ExamMarch 11 - 15 Santi Maha Sangha 1st Level Training

MEXICO CITYMarch 25 - 28 Mexico City Easter retreat

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICOApril 1 - 4 Baja California, Mexico Retreat

USAApril 13 -17 Los Angeles RetreatApril 27 - May 1 New York City RetreatMay 6 - 8 Tsegyalgar, Conway, MassachusettsRetreatMay 11 - 12 Santi Maha Sangha II Level Exam,TsegyalgarMay 13 - 17 Santi Maha Sangha III Level Training,Tsegyalgar

RUSSIAJune 3 - 5 Kunsangar , a course of Moxabustion(Limited to persons who know Medicine)June 8 -12 Moscow retreat

ITALYJuly 1 - 5 Merigar , Italy Retreat 1July15 -Aug. 5 My personal retreat, MerigarJuly 22 -24 Moxabustion course for people who arefamiliar with medicine (Shang-Shung Institute)Aug. 10 -16 Merigar Retreat 2

SPAINOct. 5 - 9 Spain Retreat

BRAZILOct. 14 - 18 Brazilian Retreat

MARGARITA ISLAND, VENEZUELANov. 4 - 8 Longsal Teaching RetreatNov. 25 - 29 Santi Maha Sangha Base and 1st LevelTeachers Trainings, Vajra Dance and Yantra Yoga 1st and2nd Teachers’ TrainingsDec. 2 - 8 Tshedrup (Long life) teachingDec. 26 - Jan. 1 Tashigar Norte retreat

Margarita Gonpa N ZEITZ

Letter on Reorganization ofthe Dzogchen Communityfrom Yeshi Namkhai & LuigiOttaviani

An Essential Chronicle ofthw History of the VajraDance by Prima Mai, Part I Page 5 & 6

There are words written by afamous Dzogchen mastercalled Jigme Lingpa that

say, “If we have good intention,then our path and our realization,everything is good. If we have abad intention, then everything isbad.” So most important is ourintention. In general inMahayana, it is most important toalways try to cultivate good inten-tion in any circumstance. This is amuch more important practice ofMahayana than going to aMahayana temple every day andmaking offerings, etc. In our life -time we can’ t always find aMahayana temple in front of us. AMahayana practitioner is notdependent on a Mahayana temple.Of course, if there is a temple,there are all possibilities. We nev-er negate or limit and we do ourbest.

The most important practicein Mahayana is that you try toremember the kind of intentionyou have in any circumstance, atthat moment. The moment whenyou are walking, working, talkingwith people, etc. You rememberthat if you have some bad inten-tion then you discover it immedi-ately, that it is not good. If youfollow that you can produce neg-ative karma. Therefore you rec -ognize that the intention is nega-tive and you turn it into goodintention. In the place of badintention, you create a somethingnew, a good intention. If youwork in this way , this is thesupreme practice of Mahayana.You become really good practi-tioner of Mahayana and then youcan understand what Refuge andBodhicitta mean.

When you follow the teach-ing, like the MahayanaBodhisattva’s path, a there areexplanations of the Six PrajnaParamitas, etc. You can applythem. You try to do your best. It isnot so dif ficult in your daily life.There are many of these kinds ofpractices to apply , also relatedwith our attitude, even if we donot take a vow and follow a par-ticular rule. Buddha said, “Y oufollow the example of others anddo your best.” This is somethingvery important for everybody . Ifsomeone insults me, I don’ t likeit. That means if I insult someone,they don’t like it either. Instead ofinsulting, I pay respect and talk ina gentle way . If someone givesme a punch, I don’ t like it.Likewise, if I do that kind of ges-ture, no one likes it. So it is veryimportant to take example fromyourself.

This is the teaching ofBuddha. I explain this to smallchildren and they understand verywell. For example, some children,small children, kill ants and smallinsects under their feet. Whenthey do that I say, “Don’t do that.”You don’ t do that because thatanimal suf fers. If a you are, forexample, a small boy or girl, anda very big, gigantic being comesand puts you under their feet andyou are killed, how do you feel?You feel very sad and you suf fer.It’s the same thing; you must notkill other animals. When Iexplain, they understand verywell. That is an example of howBuddha taught - that way every-body learns and it is not necessaryto follow rules. We more or lesshave an idea what is good and

what is bad. If there is a goodthing, we try to apply andincrease it. If something is nega-tive, we reject and eliminate it.How we apply that is very easy inour daily life; there is no need fora particular rule.

For example, in TibetanBuddhism, we have the Vajrayanateaching. W ithin the V ajrayanasystem we have lower and higherTantras. There are many teachersof Vajrayana and they teach indifferent ways. In any case, if wefollow the Vajrayana teaching, itis very important that we alsoknow what the dif ferencebetween Vajrayana and Sutrateaching is. “V ajra” means ourreal nature. In Sutra, for example,we say , “Prajnaparamita” or“Great Mother”, which representsour state of emptiness. There is noexplanation of our energy level.

In Tantrism, the explanationis related mainly to the ener gylevel. Our real nature is called“Vajra”. In general, people canunderstand Vajra, what Vajra is,and the symbol of the Vajra. TheVajra Symbol has a kind of ball atits center; on the top and bottomthere are five points. That symbolis characteristic of the teaching ofVajrayana. This symbol is not areal Vajra, but the real Vajra is ourreal condition. We have thatpotentiality, just like a Vajra. Thecenter ball is similar to the visual-ization of the thigle we use whenwe do Guruyoga in the Dzogchenteaching. Guru Padmasambhavasaid, THIGLE CHENPODRAZUR MED, meaning “totalthigle beyond any corner”.Corners represent limitations. Ifthere are three corners, we say“triangle”, four corners we say“square”. We are always enteringinto limitations. The thigle has nolimitation. Similarly, the thigle isour potentiality; our potentialityis beyond any kind of limitation.Also in the center of the Vajrasymbol, there is this thigle-likeball.

We have our real conditionbeyond limitation, but with sec-ondary causes our real conditioncan manifest as an aspect of thepure and impure dimension. In apure dimension, we have the fiveDhyana Buddhas, and Yab/Yummanifestations. In impure vision,everybody has the five aggrega-tions, like form, sensation, etc.This is impure vision in the sam-saric condition. We can thentransform into a pure dimensionbecause the same nature is con-nected with this center ball. Thenwe transform, directlyor indirect-ly. In Tantrism, one of the mostimportant aspects we work withis vision, pure and impure, likethe symbol of Vajra, which hasfive points up and five pointsdown.

We transform impure visioninto pure vision through the twostages in the method of Vajrayanacalled the “development stage”and “accomplishing stage”. The“development stage” is when wemainly work with three kinds ofmanifestations. For example, wehave peaceful, wrathful and joy-ful manifestations. We have thesethree aspects because we havemainly three emotions, the rootsof all emotions, ignorance, attach-ment and anger . You rememberthat “ignorance” means we aremissing clarity , like a sleeping

state. To transform these threeemotions into wisdoms, we needthese three characteristic manifes-tations. First of all, in Vajrayana,we receive an initiation. In bothlower and higher Tantra, we needto receive an initiation to applythe practice. The Vajrayana sys-tem is dif ferent from the Sutrasystem. I n t he S utra t eaching,even you don’ t receive anything,a vow or something, if you read abook and understand, for exam-ple, then you can apply the teach-ing and go ahead.

When you speak of a teacher,the teacher of Sutra andVajrayana are completely dif fer-ent. The teacher of Sutra is some-thing like an ordinary friend orsomeone who can help you. Forexample, when you receive avow, you should receive a vowwith monks and nuns from theSangha. You can’t receive a vowonly from one teacher , you mustreceive it from a group of monksand nuns. In order to purify awrong-doing, you can’ t confessand purify with one teacher only;you always need the Sangha. Sothe teacher in Sutra is somethinglike a collaborator. In Vajrayana itis not that way; with theVajrayana teacher , you mustunderstand the root of the pathand how you follow, because youshould receive initiations fromthe teacher. You can’t receive aninitiation from a manifestation ofSambhogakaya.

For example, consider the ini-tiation of Avalokiteshvara relatedwith lower Tantra. You receivethat initiation from your teacher ,not from A valokiteshvara. Youdon’t have the capacity to havecontact with Avalokiteshvara, butyou do have the capacity to meetyour teacher and the teacher canteach you and transmit that initia-tion. Later you go with the visual-ization in that pure dimension.For that reason the teacher isimportant. Particularly in thehigher Tantras like Kalachakra,Hevajra, C hakrasamvara, t hereare so many higher Tantric teach-ings, all these important initia-tions you receive from teacher .Your root practice is then related

to Guruyoga. Guruyoga meansyou are in the state of yourteacher. Maybe the teacher trans-formed like Kalachakra and gaveyou that initiation. You then applythat method of Kalachakra prac-tice, but you know that the realKalachakra is your teacher . So ifyou work that way , you canobtain of realization.

You see, the teacher is impor-tant and initiation indispensablein Vajrayana. Initiation is indis -pensable because in the Sutrateaching, for example, theNirmanakaya Buddha physicallyexplains and teaches. You listen,learn and apply the path. In theVajrayana teaching, the Buddha isnot physically explaining andteaching. Buddha transforms likeKalachakra or Hevajra, etc., andthe people who have contactreceive that transmission.Ordinary people can’ t have con-tact with a manifestation ofBuddha like the Kalachakra,because ordinary people do nothave that capacity.

So there are different ways ofworking and obtaining realiza-tion. When you say, for example,you renounce something, thatmeans you consider that it has novalue. For example, if you have avery old dress you think, “Mydress is consumed, now it has novalue,” and you throw it away .What you need is a new dress. Sothat means change. In the path ofrenunciation, there is a verystrong feeling of changing some-thing. That method is used veryoften. For example, someonereceives a refuge vow and says,“Now I have changed. I am aBuddhist. Yesterday my namewas Geor ge and today it isDorje.” You feel you havechanged something. Also Georgetries to change the attitude anddress a little. In the real sensenothing has changed, you are stillGeorge. If you have some knowl-edge or understanding, maybe ithelps you. In Sutra, they reallyconsider change as somethingimportant.

In Vajrayana and Dzogchen,that is not the main point. For thatreason, the characteristic of the

Vajrayana path is called “transfor-mation”. Transformation is notlike you are throwing away yourold dress. The nature of emotionand nature of wisdom are thesame. That’ s why in T antrismthey say, “If there is more wood,you can have more fire.” Woodrepresents a samsaric thing, theflame of fire represents wisdom.If you have a small piece of goldand you make a statue, then itbecomes a golden statue. You putit somewhere, you of fer flowers,incense, you pay respect. Nowyou change this aspect of the stat-ue and make an ashtray. No moregolden statue, but now a goldenashtray. It is an elegant ashtray ,but you use it like an ashtray , notlike a statue, and you are notpraying and paying respect to it.So the aspect has changed, butnot the nature. It is always thesame gold. GuruPadmasambhava gave the exam-ple of what “transformation”means regarding our emotions. Itis very important that we knowwhat transformation is and that itis the characteristic of Vajrayana.

Many people think thatDzogchen is V ajrayana.Dzogchen is Vajrayana, but not apath of transformation. Manypeople believe that the Dzogchenteaching is a path of transforma-tion. There is a transformationpath within Dzogchen called theAnuyoga tradition. “Anu” alsomeans “superior”. GuruPadmasabhava taught “SuperiorYoga” originally . Later GuruPadmasambhava gave advice tohis students that in the future thatthey should go to a country called“Trusha”. In Trusha, the teachingof Anuyoga is very dif fused andthe original books have beentranslated into Tibetan. Later, twovery famous teachers called NupSangye Yeshe and Chetsen Kyewent to Trusha and translated allthe series of that teaching. So inthe Vajrayana tradition of Tibet,we have the complete series ofthat Anuyoga teaching.Particularly we have this series ofteaching in the NyingmapaSchool because the NyingmapaSchool has primarily maintainedthe teachings of GuruPadmasambhava.

The consideration of our pri-mordial state is the same thing inDzogchen and Anuyoga. InAnuyoga, we get into that statethrough transformation. InDzogchen Atiyoga, we use themethod of self-liberation. InDzogchen we can use theAnuyoga method of transforma-tion to get into that knowledgebecause of the consideration ofthe base, how our real nature issince the beginning. Anuyoga andother Vajrayana teachings are notthe same. All Vajrayana teachingssay that our real nature is Vajra.Vajra represents something inde-structible and infinite potentiality.In Anuyoga, it is explained, thatour real nature is sound, light andrays, the three primordial poten-tialities.

We can manifest everythingin the Sambhogakaya aspect ifthere is a secondary cause. Thereis no need to construct or developsomething. In Anuyoga, we donot use the development andaccomplishing stage methods, asis done in the general Vajrayana

2

continued on next page

Chögyal Namkhai NorbuWeb Cast Teaching in Margarita

April 18, 2004

Part II

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

Rinpoche in Margarita N ZEITZ

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE DZOGCHEN COMMUNITY

Since 2003 the Dzogchen Community has started a lar ge project ofreorganization.

AmbientiWeb Consulting has been chosen to develop this project byChögyal Namkhai Norbu and Merigar ’s Gakyil (first Gar to run).

This project, born from the need to ensure the growth and prosperityof the Dzogchen Teaching (and Community), has come to its opera -tional start these days.

The “vision”, plan and new resources (information technology , eco-nomic and financial model, or ganizational chart, operating control),have been presented to Chögyal Namkhai Norbu this November inMargarita and have received his full approval.

The first Gar to run will be Merigar , but the scope of the project isworld-wide. Starting from the second half of 2005 the reorganizationprocess will be extended to other Gars.

We would like to clarify that the reorganization will not deal with theprinciples of the Teachings but only with the activities of Gars andLings, the way they manage resources, the way they work, the waypeople who work within the Community are managed, and so on.

This project introduces new systems for work and collaboration, newservices for members and a number of exciting innovations!

We are working hard to set up a modern or ganization based on col -laboration and communication. For these reasons we suggest to startworking in a correct way from now on.

This means transmitting only information that is real, with a concretefoundation.

Requests for funds should be made only following approval by theGakyil, providing detailed information about the idea, the budget,and a business plan.

If you want to propose/do something related to the President’s image(on any media) consider talking also to the Shang Shung Institute atMerigar for approval, because they manage that field.

Do not provide information about the Dzogchen Community that isnot first revised by qualified people. Always ask your Gakyil first.

We are sure you understand why this is so important. Too manyresources and energies have been wasted in the past by carrying outactivities without adequate planning and vision.

Best regards,

Luigi OttavianiYeshi Silvano Namkhaihttp://www.ambientiweb.com

system. There is some aspect ofthat, but only through informationon how we can integrate into thatstate which says, “There is noth-ing to construct.” In Anuyoga it isexplained that we all have poten-tiality since the beginning. If Iwant to transform or manifest likeKalachakra or the Mandala ofKalachakra, then I only need thesecondary cause. If there is nosecondary cause, then nothingcan manifest. For example, if youput a statue of Kalachakra or athanka of Kalachakra in front ofthe mirror , it immediately mani -fests in the mirror: how it looks,the color, form, everything. Thereis no need for it to develop one byone. In Vajrayana, the develop -ment stage means we read andconstruct one by one. In theAnuyoga system we manifestinstantly. If you put a thanka ofKalachakra in front of a mirror, itinstantly appears in the mirror . Itdoes not develop slowly , slowly,from the feet or arms, etc. For thatreason it is not necessary todevelop and create gradually . Sowe can understand the difference.For example, when we are doingour practice like Guru Tragphuror Simhamukha in the DzogchenCommunity, all these manifesta-tions are the Anuyoga system.

The final goal of Anuyoga iscalled the state of Dzogchen. Thetransformation method inDzogchen is called the Anuyogasystem. When we say“Dzogchen”, that means Atiyoga.Atiyoga is characteristic of thepath of self-liberation. Self-liber-ation means that we don’ t needany antidotes for liberating. In theSutra teaching there is an antidotefor overcoming any kind of prob-lem. In Tantrism there is a con -cept of pure and impure visionand you transform impure visioninto pure vision. When you suc-ceed and are in this clarity , thenyou can get in a state of the finalgoal. So you see, these are char-acteristic of Sutra and Vajrayana.In the Dzogchen teaching self-liberation means we don’ t needthese things. I will give you avery simple example: if you aresitting somewhere with closedeyes and you open your eyes,when you open your eyes you cansee a tree, it has many nice flow-ers, etc., so that means your senseis having contact with object.What you are seeing is samsaricvision. In a Tantrism, that isimpure vision. In Dzogchen, youare not working with concepts ofpure and impure vision. You donot have any problem of pure orimpure vision; you are not dis-tracted and you are in instantpresence. If you do not have thatcapacity, you at least try to be pre-sent. In that moment you are notconditioned by that vision; even ifthat vision is samsaric vision, youare not conditioned by it.

For that reason, alsoMahamudra teachers like Tilopaand like Padampa, gave advice totheir students saying, “Visions arenot the problem, the problem isattachment.“ In general, inVajrayana, when you transformimpure into pure vision, it seemsimpure vision has no value andthen you are transforming. Wediscover that when we get in thestate of Mahamudra. In theDzogchen teaching, we introducethat state since the beginning. Sothen we can understand what itmeans, “self-liberation”. W edon’t need any antidote; we don’t

need any method for transform-ing. If you have vision, purevision or impure vision, there isno dif ference. Vision is alwaysvision.

So when we learn self-libera-tion with the example of the mir-ror that is very useful and under-standable. For example, if youlook in a mirror you can seereflections. You understand thatreflections are unreal. You stillthink there is something real infront of the mirror and there is areflection, because that object andreflection are interdependent. Forthat reason your knowledge ofreflection is unreal, it has no func-tion or value. You should under-stand that you are not looking in amirror and seeing reflections, butthat you are the mirror . The mir-ror is an example of your dimen-sion. Now you are looking in amirror and you can see somereflections. What are the reflec -tions for the mirror? Reflectionsare not a problem for mirror ,because your real nature is themirror. Reflections are a quality, aqualification, of how the mirrormanifests. If there is no manifes-tation, no reflection, that meansthere is no quality . So you see,when you know that, good, bad,pure vision, impure vision, can allmanifest in the mirror and noth-ing changes for the mirror .Manifestation is the only qualityof the mirror. If you are being justlike the state of mirror , theneverything is self-liberated thatway. All your existence, all youremotions, all your dualisticvision, everything is just like areflection in a mirror . Then youcan understand what self-libera-tion means; you need to be ininstant presence and then every-thing, all visions, self-liberate.

For that reason, in theDzogchen teaching we say ,NANGWA RIGPAI GYEN“Nangwa” means “visions”.Visions are not only what we seewith our eyes, but also what wehear with our ears, and smell withour noses, etc., everything. Allthese are like an ornament of theinstant presence, the state ofRigpa. That means you should bein instant presence. When you arebeing in instant presence, every-thing is just like an ornament.When we say ornament, orna-ment means to make beauty , notto make problems. Then you canhave more of an idea what “self-liberation” means. When yougoing into a teaching like theDzogchen teaching andMahamudra, etc., you should goin more into the essence. Youmust also understand that being ina state of Mahamudra orDzogchen means being beyondtime and beyond a dualistic con-dition. Then you have that knowl-edge as something alive.

You remember, at the end ofour Thuns, that we dedicate mer-its. When we dedicate merits, wehave two dif ferent aspects. Oneis, in Tibetan we say “Ngowa”,another is called “Monlam”“Ngowa” means we dedicatewhat we accumulate merits, tobecome the cause of liberation orbring benefit or happiness to allsentient beings. There are manyverses for dedicating, but if youdon’t know any verses then youdon’t worry . The main point isyour intention. We accumulatemerits, and dedicate them to allsentient beings. Even if you don’tuse any verses you can do that

with your intention. Another wayis called “Monlam”. “Monlam” isthat we pray with this cause thatall sentient beings quickly havethe manifestation of realization,etc.

When we do a Ganapuja atthe end we have three verses.First we say “GEV A DIYISNURDU DAG” That is dedicat -ing, “W ith this accumulation ofmerits then all sentient beingshaving total re alization.” Thenthere are two other two verses.One is: “BALDAN LAMAI XABBAD DANBA DAN”. Thatmeans we pray that all our teach-ers live a long life. It is veryimportant when we take refugeand dedicate this kind of prayer ,we consider all our teachers. Weare praying for the long life of allgood teachers who teach andmake benefit for sentient beings.That is something important. Ifthere is no teacher , there is noteaching. Then “KANAMYONLA”, that means: “All sen-tient beings in our samsaricdimension have relative happi-ness and enjoy”. Also we pray forthat benefit for all sentient beings.We say “all sentient beings”, notonly our group of people. “DAGXAN”, means ourselves and allothers accumulate two accumula-tions and complete all causes ofrealization, particularly purifyingall negativity , obstacles, etc. forfollowing the teaching for realiza-tion, etc. “NURDU SANGYAS”,immediately all obtain total real-ization.

We have more words of GuruPadmasambhava for spreadingand continuing the pure, essentialteaching in the universe. “GYAL-VA GUNGI”, that means that thetreasure of all enlightened beingsis the essence of teachings.“LAMA ZOGQEN”, representsthe Dzogchen teaching. TheDzogchen teaching is introduceddirectly from mind to nature ofmind. For that reason we say it isthe supreme teaching for havingquick realization. “JIDARKALA”, just like sun is shining insky. “GYALKAM YONLA…”,means spreading in all dimen-sions, not only the human dimen-sion, but also other dimensions.So this is also an invocation.

After that invocation we ded-icate empowering with themantra: “OM DHARE”. Thismantra i s n ot i tself d edicatingmerits but for empowers the ded-ication.

So this is how I want toinform you today and then you doyour best to be aware. It is veryimportant that we do practice, butstill more important is that we tryto be aware. You learn to beaware and that way you can relaxin your real condition. So this ismy teaching of today . Now wewant to send greetings to all peo-ple who are living in winter, sum-mer, autumn and all the dif ferentseasons. We are here in Margaritaenjoying very nice weather . Weare also sending our enjoyment toyou. And everybody is saying“Hello!” to you.

Transcribed by Jakob WinklerEdited by Naomi Zeitz

Teaching ChNN continued from previous page

T H E M I R R O R N O V / D E C 2 0 0 4 3

n

Yeshi Namkhai speaks with Tashigar Norte Gakyil N ZEITZ

4

Another Day in ParadiseThe Vajrapani retreat at Mar garitaIsland, November 9-23, 2004by Liz Granger

We were fortunate to be among the more thanthree hundred students seated in the newGonpa on Margarita Island this November

as the warm tropical rain provided a dull soothingbackground to Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s teachingson Lhalung Sangag, a terma teaching of Heka Ling-pa. The piercing songs of exotic birds while highfly-ing hawks wheeled circles high overhead punctuatedthe teachings from time to time.Built in Caribbean style, the Gonpa was a shelteringroof, large enough to provide shade from a relentlesssun and occasional storm clouds for three VajraDance Mandalas. Walled only on one side behind theplace where Rinpoche sits to teach with his back tothe mountain, it is open on three sides giving exten-sive views over the ‘comedor’ eating area, the sever-al community houses in various phases of construc-tion and the aloe fields that slope gently downtowards the sea.It was our first visit to the much talked about IslandGar and we were overwhelmed by the profusion ofwarmth, humidity, colors, sounds and sensations thatstruck us after leaving a crisp grey Europe behind forthe Garden of Mar garita. We were profoundlymoved to see Rinpoche in person, deeply tanned andvibrant, as a tropical bird in his brightly floweredshirt, seated before his students to teach after what,for us, has been a very long pause. We were thrilledwhen we were able to accompany him at Zaragosabeach for a long lazy swim in the swelling greenwaters, out beyond the boat of still grey pelicans, towhere we could float on our backs within the man-dala of our Vajra brothers and sisters clustered likesatellites around Rinpoche as we sky gazed and sangthe Song of the Vajra. We were excited as we joinedthe intensely competitive activity of the ‘bagchen’players as they concentrated on their tiles at the‘comedor’ on Sunday afternoons.It was our first retreat on Mar garita Island and wegave ourselves over wholeheartedly to the heat, lightand totally relaxed pace of life there. The preciousteachings we and many others had come so far toreceive from Rinpoche were entitled ‘LhalungSangag’, a terma teaching of Lhalung Palgyi Dorjediscovered by Rinpoche’ s uncle, Khyentse ChokyiWangchug, and were the penultimate in a long seriesof teachings he has given this year . Rinpoche spokeabout the fact that while people make some sacrificeto arrive there, that kind of sacrifice is very useful.He said that although he has a program for the nexttwo years, there was ‘no guarantee’ and for that rea-son he had decided to give this teaching at this time.Rinpoche outlined the detailed history of the originof this teaching from Lhalung Palgyi Yeshe, a stu -dent of Sogpo, one of Padmasambhava’s twenty-five

realized disciples, who hid this teaching in EastTibet. In the early1950’ s, Rinpoche’ s uncle,Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug, through dreams,received indications that enabled him to discover the‘terma’ statue of Vajrapani near a place called Galen.Later, his uncle gave the transmission to Rinpochewho was sixteen at the time. The manifestation ofthis terma is related to a special episode of ChögyalNamkhai Norbu. The episode was that while he wasreceiving the Nyingthig YabzhI teachings in the cavewhere his uncle lived in retreat, Chögyal NamkhaiNorbu had a dream in which he received particularsigns that enabled his uncle to discover the wholeteaching. Whereupon, his uncle entrusted the statueto his care and asked him to spread this teaching.After the essential empowerment, we receivedinstructions on the main practice and ten related‘tsalung’ practices for developing inner heat. Onmore than one occasion, Rinpoche emphasized theimportance of keeping pure ‘samaya’. He told us thatthe Vajra relationship between teacher and studentand between students continues beyond this lifetimeuntil total realization. It is more important and endur-ing than any other type of relationship and while itmay sometimes be dif ficult for us to go beyond ourlimitations, it is vital to keep our commitments.On another occasion he spoke at length about howwe provoke local guardians inadvertently and theeffect this may have. He cited the class of Mamo andexplained that the continuous destruction and pollu-tion of the environment in dif ferent places aroundthe globe has had the effect of provoking the Mamo,which has given rise to many wars around the world.He went on to talk about the dangerous influence ofthe Gyalpo in Tibet and how they were linked to theCultural Revolution and the destruction of Tibetanculture. He warned us about the dangers of Gyalpopractice and the followers of this particular practice.As the thirteen day retreat drew to a close Rinpochetold us how this retreat ‘will become history’, andwhile we place a lot of importance on things, noth-ing is really important. It is all relative. However ,that does not mean that we should remain indifferentbut govern ourselves with awareness. He went on tosay that the essence of the teaching is Guruyoga,which means getting into our real nature. We cankeep our commitment through Guruyoga and at theend of our lives die with Guruyoga. Everything canbe integrated if one understands the principle of theteaching.Thirteen days of intensive teaching had passed,swept along by the fierce bright sun, the suddensqualls of torrential rain, red mud, waving palms,jade green sea. Rinpoche’ s final words as the swel -tering sun broke through the grey clouds invited hisstudents far and wide to come to the island for teach-ings in the future.

Rinpoche teaching in Margarita N ZEITZ

n

A Talk on the Vajra DanceBy Chögyal Namkhai NorbuAugust 2004Tashigar North, Isla Margarita

During one of the spectacular r ed-violet sunsets in Tashigar North,Margarita Island, called by some local people “the island of fanta -sy” because of the unusual way time passes, on August 2nd, 2004,Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche qualified two new V ajra Danceinstructors: Karin Heinemann fr om Germany and AlgisLukosevicius from Lithuania.Rinpoche asked them to show some steps of the Dance of Liberationof Six Lokas and the Dance of the Thr ee Vajras and, with a briefcommentary about the meaning of being an instructor, gave a diplo-ma confirming them each as local instructor for the 1st level of theDance of Vajra. After, Rinpoche gave the following talk about theVajra Dance.

When you are learning the Vajra Dance, you should alwaystry to remember that timing is very, very important. Whenpeople first learn the Vajra Dance, they think about how

they should move and how the arms and feet must be. Timing is alsorelated with our mind and energy. So it is very important to remem-ber timing. If you remember the Dance very precisely, then the tim-ing will automatically come and the Dance becomes very harmo-nious. This is something important that you should always remem -ber, not only for the Vajra Dance, but also for life.There is the famous “working with circumstances” in the DzogchenTeaching, and when we understand “timing”, we really know howto work with circumstances. Timing is related to the harmony of thebody, speech and mind. If everything goes together harmoniously ,everything is fine. First you learn how to do the Dance and whenyou become more familiar with it, you try and be in the state ofinstant presence. The Vajra Dance is the supreme practice because itis related to body, speech and mind – altogether. When you are in thestate of instant presence, there are always possibilities to integrate.You remember, in the teaching, it is most important that first we tryto have knowledge and understanding and after we make sure thatwe have it. Finally we integrate. When we succeed to integrate, wealso have realization. We do not go on a mountain or live in a cavelike Milarepa, but we live a normal life in society . Living this way,how can we have realization? We have realization by knowing howto deal with our three gates and integrate in a state of contemplation.There is no dif ference being in a cave alone for years and years orintegrating your body, speech and mind in instant presence in dailylife.In the Dzogchen teaching there are always possibilities to integrateeverything in practice. So, using this method, one of the most impor-tant practices is the Vajra Dance, something very concrete. On oneside you learn contemplation, how to be in instant presence and theother side, until you have that capacity , you try and learn the VajraDance movements related with the body and ener gy, harmoniousmovement, and then you integrate in the real state. This is the realessence of the practice of the Vajra Dance.We still have not finished learning the Vajra Dance. There is theVajra Dance with the Song of the Vajra, the Dance of the SixLiberations and the Three Vajras. We know and work with theseDances. We still don’ t know how to use the medium and lar geMandalas. We are going to construct a lar ge mandala, maybe inMerigar and Tsegyalgar*, and maybe also in Tashigar North. Whenthere are medium and large Mandalas, we should learn how to danceon them. That means that there is still something to learn and do.There are also different aspects of dance. In Tantric practice, there isa style for transforming the three kinds of emotions: wrathful, peace-ful and joyful forms. The wrathful form is movement and the peace-ful form is more on the mental level. These three forms are relatedwith the Dance of the Vajra on the big Mandala. For example, on thebig Mandala there are three levels. We have learned to dance on thesmall Mandala, so we already know how to dance in the heart of theMandala, but we don’ t know the second and third levels. We canlearn and develop them. That means we will do practice of wrathfulmanifestations on the border of the large Mandala - more movementand more quickly. In the center, where we now do the Vajra Danceon the small Mandala, that represents more the mental and peacefullevels.I have always had a very great wish that people learn slowly anddevelop how the inner Mandala of the individual corresponds to theouter Mandala, and how that relates geographically to our dimen-sion and how the geographical locations relate to the movements.When we think of the outer Mandala it also represents dif ferentplaces of this world. We don’t know other dimensions, but we knowour dimension and how that relates to this inner Mandala. For exam-ple, in the inner Mandala we have 4, 5 or 6 chakras. That is the rea-

continued on the last page

Patricia and Alex model new Vajra Dance Costumes

T H E M I R R O R N O V / D E C 2 0 0 4 5

AN ESSENTIALCHRONICLE OFTHE HISTORY OFTHE VAJRA DANCE

Part I of a three part series

by Prima Mai, June 2004

One association with theword “memory” mightbe, for example, a nice

roomy box. A box is somethingin which one hopes to have putsomething orderly together, as apoint of reference or , perhaps,for later use. It seems my mem-ory box is made of cardboardand that a mouse has taken a lik-ing to it, creating a lar ge holeand carrying away some of thecontents to make its nest in ahidden place somewhere else.When I was asked to writesomething about the history ofthe Vajra Dance, I could at leastremember where I had put mycardboard box. This was,maybe, promising and so I triedto write this article.

If any of you who were alsopresent at the time rememberthings dif ferently or in moredetail, please accept my apolo-gies. It is, also, at the presenttime, not possible to write abook, even though I might feellike doing so after all the researchspent looking for the hiddenmouse nests. A book would benice one day and maybe it wouldbe a good idea if we could allcheck our memory boxes - for aslong as the fast-growing micepopulation can be kept at bay - sothat we can write down what weremember about how the VajraDance practice manifested(somewhat miraculously) in ourdimension and in our lives.

My own memory of the VajraDance begins in Merigar in 1990,as a new student of Rinpoche,having met the Dzogchen teach-ings just one year before. It was atime spent living as if in a con-stant magical cloud, in constantdiscovery and much study, tryingto understand the many unfamil-iar terms used in Buddhism, aswell as memorizing as well as Icould the main tunes and thunsused in the DzogchenCommunity. I remember , duringmy first retreat with Rinpoche inMay 1989 at a place in the FrenchPyrenees called Marcevol learn-ing the mantra of the purificationof the elements and the Song ofthe Vajra, hiding in a little forestbehind the retreat centre, hopingtimidly that no one could hear merepeating the mantra aloud.

That same year I went toMerigar for the first time, for theChristmas retreat 1989/90.Rinpoche gave Longde teachingsin the newly built Capanone, nowcalled the Zikhang. It was verycold and damp, and the floor wasstill raw cement. After the teach-ings, Yantra Yoga and other prac-tices were over, many of us rolledout our insulation mats and sleep-ing bags, and the teaching hallwas transformed into a big dormi-tory. A bad flu, accompanied bylots of coughing, soon joined us.Even being fortunate to share ahouse with a group of practition-ers, I fell very ill immediatelyafter the retreat and stayed in bedfor nearly a month in the old dor-mitory, which today is the indoordining hall in the yellow house, orZerkhang.

Rinpoche and his family ,

when visiting Merigar , livedupstairs. At that time, Rinpocheworked as the Professor ofTibetan and MongolianLanguages at the OrientalInstitute of the University ofNaples, a post from which heretired in 1992. While I was slow-ly recovering and beginning toget out of bed (thanks in part tothe kind care of Jean Macintosh),I remember sitting in the old,

small Gonpa (now Merigar ’soffice) reading a book, whenRinpoche entered, followed bymany Merigar children. Rinpochestarted to teach the children someTibetan songs and dances, mak-ing them walk in a circle. Hecalled me to join in and so I tried,still feeling pretty weak in mylegs. Soon, other adult practition-ers crept curiously around thecurtain and joined the happygroup. Rinpoche came many ofthe following afternoons, playinghis flute, teaching Tibetan tunes,singing and dancing, and playinggames of “Samsara and Nirvana”for several hours at a time. In theend, the little Gonpa was morefull of adults than children.

In the spring of 1990, a fewmonths later , I made my secondvisit to Merigar , where I went tohelp with the many things neededto do before the visit of H.H. theDalai Lama, who had been invit-ed to the inauguration of theShang-Shung Institute and thenewly built Gonpa. That summer,I also decided to move fromSpain, to live near Merigar , inItaly.

Vajra Dance 1990

In the summer of 1990, Rinpochevisited Tsegyalgar in the UnitedStates, where in August he did aone-month personal retreat on thepractice of Mandarava, on theland, which is now calledKhandroling. The first timeRinpoche had a dream about theVajra Dance had been at a retreatat Khandroling the previous year,in summer 1989. During his per-sonal retreat in 1990, Rinpochereceived, in many dreams of clar-ity, his terma “The Tantra of theLiberation of the Six Classes ofBeings into the Six PureDimensions” and “The SymbolicManifestation of the Vajra Dancewhich Liberates the Six Classesof Beings into the Six PureDimensions”, which is a step-by-step explanation. Rinpoche wroteeverything down in one enor-mous volume, which includeddrawings of the mandala and the

respective steps. Rinpoche himself in Khandrolingpainted the first mandala on thisplanet, right next to the pond,where Rinpoche found a woodenplatform that was suitable inthose circumstances. This man -dala does not exist anymore. Thewinters are long and snowy inMassachusetts, the summers hotand humid, and in time the wood-en platform and the paint van -

ished with the elements.The rest of this sacredplatform was finally takendown and distributed insmall squares between uspractitioners to keep. Thisyear, 2004, the firstMandala of the Universeon this planet has beencompleted inKhandroling.

In September 1990,Rinpoche returned to Italy.This was also the timewhen we prepared the firstissue of the InternationalDzogchen CommunityNewspaper, “TheMirror”, under the care ofAssam, meeting andworking together in theoffices in the Capannone,or Z ikhang, w hich w asstill in a pretty rough statecompared to today . Thelibrary, which today issuspended as if floating

above the floor , was not builtuntil 1993. The ceiling was highand a new sky-blue carpet waslaid out in the big, almost emptyhall, which had originally beendesigned to house a library onTibetan and western texts forBuddhist and Tibetan studies.

The first time Rinpoche gaveteachings on the Vajra Dance wasduring the time of the retreat thatincluded teachings on theKhandro Nyingthig, “TheInnermost Essence of theDakini”, by Padmasambhava,which took place in Merigar from21 – 29 September 1990. On oneof those days, Rinpoche came tothe Capannone, or Zikhang, tolook at and measure the libraryhall. I do not remember every-thing very well in detail, but, at acertain moment, Rinpocheexplained how to work out somekind of diagram of precise mea-surements to Renata Nani, who atthat time taught art in school.Soon, under the guidance ofRinpoche, Renata and many col-laborators painted the secondmandala on this planet – the firstMerigar mandala - on the sky-blue carpet. The measurements ofthe Vajra Dance mandala are veryprecise and are part of whatRinpoche receives in his dreams.

THE MANDALA OF THEVAJRA DANCE

We practice the three VajraDances related to our existenceon the so-called “small” mandala,which contains twelve thigles.The small mandala of the VajraDance represents our earth, theouter dimension we live in. Onthis m andala, w e p ractice t heVajra Dance of the Song of Vajra,the Liberation of the Six Lokasand the Three Vajra Dance. Therealso exist the “medium” mandala,representing our solar system,and what we call the “large” man-dala, representing our universe.The colors represent the five ele-ments. If anyone is interested inlearning more about the meaningof the Vajra Dance mandala, one

Losar, Tibetan New Yearby Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo

Tibetan New Year is called‘Losar’ and is celebrated towelcome

in the New Year.New Year is afestival commonto the wholeworld and cele-brated at dif fer-ent times,according to theway the begin-ning of a newyear is calculat-ed. There are,however, great differences withinTibet regarding the preparationsfor the auspicious ceremonies ofthe New Year determined by thecustoms of certain regions.Tibetan people who live in high,snowy regions have many tradi-tional festivals, the New Yearbeing the most elaborate. In Tibet there are several differentways of calculating the beginningof a New Year and various waysof doing the preparations for theauspicious ceremonies. Forinstance, there is a New Yearcalled ‘New Year of the smallsheep or new sheep’ (gsar ‘ambe’u lug lo gsar) that begins onthe first day of the twelfth lunarmonth; there is the ‘Kongpo newyear’ (kong po’i lo gsar) thatbegins on the first day of the tenthlunar month; and the ‘NyarongLosar’ (nyag r ong gyi lo gsar)that begins on the thirteenth dayof the twelfth lunar month. Thesedifferent ways of determining thebeginning of a new year have rea-sons that can be traced to a veryancient past. In any case, the var-ious ‘New Years’ celebrated inspecific regions of Tibet arecalled ‘small year ’ (lo chung),while the new year calculated asthe first day of the first lunarmonth is called ‘great year ’ (lochen) and is celebrated in all thethree regions of Tibet (dbugtsang, mdo stod, mdo smad) byall the Tibetans who live in oroutside Tibet. Although the dif ferent ways tocelebrate the New Year in Tibetvary slightly according to dif fer-ent provinces, for the most partthey are similar. The preparations,which start on the beginning ofthe twelfth month, and culminateon the twenty-ninth day of thetwelfth month, begin with thehouse being cleaned well, insideand out, smoke coats are removedfrom the fire wood kitchen andround marks are made on the pil-lars and beams of the kitchen withwhite flour. There is the tradition of preparinga soup called ‘soup of (the twen-ty) ninth day (dgu thug), for din-ner. That same evening, togetherwith the of fering of a sacrificialcake (gtor ma) to the gods, doneby monks in the monastery , forthe sake of casting of f the badinfluences of the previous year ,each household carries some oldclothes, broken kitchen utensils,some dirt from cleaning thehouse, a little of the ‘soup of thetwenty ninth day’ in a brokenbowl, and some pieces of doughmixed with some dirt from a body(symbolizing the removal ofimpurities and with specific dis-eases the place of the disease istouched) modeled with five fin-

gers in the dough, placed in a jarwith the clothes, fallen hair , etc.,to the nearest cross road. Themain ingredients used to preparethe soup are meat, tiny sweetpotatoes, rice, wheat, variousgreens, and cheese. Small pelletsof dough are prepared and cookedin the soup. Some of the pelletsare slightly bigger than others; if

one of more of thebigger pellets ofdough falls into thebowl of someone,what the pelletcontains serves asan indication of thecharacter, behaviorof the person and asign of what willhappen to the per-son in the future,i.e., chili (harsh

and scolding speech), coal (blackheart), paper (unstable), wool(patient), wood (inflexible), salt(lazy), sugar (empty ,sweet talk),bone (good and strong character),stone (stable and kind) are placed.Also placed in the soup are thesun (famous for showing the wayfor other beings) and moon (goodand helpful for other beings),shoes (traveling), a polar star(intelligence) and a religiousscripture (teachings and scholar-ship) all modeled in dough.The substances put in the pelletsvary a little according to the vari-ous regions, for instance in thenomadic regions a piece of theleather from the collar of animalsis placed in the bigger pellets topredict whether the cattle will begood or not in the next yearBefore eating the soup, the arti-cles to be thrown away are pre-pared, a little soup is poured in abroken bowl and all this is carriedaway to the cross road. That nightthese articles are taken away byfour or more young men, one ofwho carries a stick with a bundleof dry hay, which is then ignited. Heading t he g roup, t he y oungmen turn around three times inthe house saying: “Come out!Come out”. The group leaves thehouse and the last of them lightsfirecrackers as a symbol of chas-ing away the bad influences.Once they arrive at the crossroad(in Eastern Tibet it is the youngmen who arrive) they imitate thesound of barking dog and most ofthe firecrackers are lit. After theyoung men have thrown away the‘ransom’, they return to the housewithout looking back. During thetime of giving away the ransom,it is considered that if a memberof the family (except those whowent to give away the ransom)does not return to the house butlingers around for business orother purposes, in the followingyears they will encounter misfor-tune. When the young men returnto the house, everyone eats soup,drinks ale (chang) and conversesin a relaxed and playful way . Asthe bigger pellets are found in thebowls of various people, the sig-nificance is explained and iscause for merry laughter. On the thirtieth day , the house isprepared for the festivity arrangedwith new tables chair , carpets,etc. Different foods are prepared:food for the family and guests andfood that is of fered to the gods.The house is cleaned again in thelate afternoon of that day and thespecial sweet New Year biscuitscalled (kha zas) are arrangedbeautifully in an intertwined pat-tern on the altar of the housetogether with dry and fresh fruits,cheese, and butter . In Eastern

continued on next page continued on next page

Rinpoche dancing in Australia in the early 90’s UNKNOWN

6

ISTITUTO SHANG SHUNG2 0 0 5 C a l e n d a r o f E v e n t s

K U N Y E T I B E T A N M A S S A G E

25-27 FEBRUARY: NAPLES, ITALY

Second part of Ku Nye First Level. Cost: 720 euro for the entire course that began inNovember 2004.1-10 APRIL: MERIGAR

Intensive course of Ku Nye Second Level. Cost: 600 euro including all teaching materials.15-17 APRIL: NAPLES, ITALY

Third part of Ku Nye First Level. Cost: 720 euro for the entire course that began inNovember 2004.14-15 MAY: MERIGAR

Exam for the final diploma of Ku Nye. Cost: 50 euro.20-22 MAY: NAPLES, ITALY

Fourth and final part of the Ku Nye First Level course. Cost: 720 euro for the entirecourse that began in November 2004.10-25 JUNE: GERMANY

Continuation of the Ku Nye courses held the previous year.15-21 JULY: MERIGAR

Second part of the Ku Nye First Level Instructors' course which started in 2004.Cost: 500 euro.22-24 JULY: MERIGAR

Course on moxa given by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. The course is intended for thosewho have followed the courses of medicine and Ku Nye organised by the Institute as wellas those who already know the fundamental principles of Tibetan medicine.Cost: 150 euro.17-22 SEPTEMBER: MERIGAR

Ku Nye revision course open to all students who have attended at least the first two lev-els. The aim of the course is to clarify doubts, discuss cases, practise together under thesupervision of the teacher and deepen one's knowledge. All students of courses organisedby the Institute outside Italy are invited to partecipate in order to share their experiences.Cost: 350 euro.1- 28 OCTOBER: KUNSANGAR, RUSSIA

Continuation of the Ku Nye courses held the previous year.1-15 NOVEMBER: ENGLAND

Continuation of the Ku Nye courses held the previous year.17-26 NOVEMBER: KARMALING, FRANCE

Intensive course of Ku Nye Second Level.18-20 NOVEMBER: NAPLES, ITALY

First part of the Ku Nye Second Level course. Cost: 750 euro including a large amount ofteaching material.2-11 DECEMBER: POMAIA, ITALY

Intensive course of Ku Nye First Level.16 DEC.-31 JANUARY: AUSTRALIA

Continuation of the Ku Nye courses held the previous year.

FO U R Y E A R C O U R S E OF T R A D I T I O N A L T I B E T A N M E D I C I N E

1-10 MAY: MERIGAR

First part of the second year course of Traditional Tibetan Medicine.Cost: 1500 euro for the entire course including teaching materials (textbook and MP3).3-12 SEPTEMBER: MERIGAR

Second part of the second year course of Traditional Tibetan Medicine.

M A N T R A H E A L I N G

23-26 APRIL: MERIGAR

Intensive residential course of Mantra Healing Cost: 200 euro plus lodging and meals at alocal country house.27-30 NOVEMBER: KARMALING, FRANCE

Mantra Healing course.

D R E A M S A N D T I B E T A N M E D I C I N E

5-6 MARCH: ROME, ITALY

Course of First Level Dreams and Medicine. Cost: 120 euro.28-29 MAY: ROME, ITALY

Second course of Dreams and Medicine. Cost: 120 euro.3-6 JUNE: MERIGAR

Intensive residential course of Dreams and Medicine. Cost: 200 euro plus lodging andmeals at a at a local country house.

T I B E T A N L A N G U A G E

18-31 AUGUST: MERIGAR

Course of spoken and written Tibetan with Elio Guarisco. The first week will be forbeginners and the second will be for those who are more advanced. Cost: 500 euro.

IN F O R M AT I O N A N D RE G I S T R AT I O N:For general information on the courses please contact the Istituto Shang Shung at:

ssinst@tiscali.it or contact ELISA COPELLO: elisa-cop@libero.itFOR COURSES ORGANISED IN VARIOUS PLACES, PLEASE CONTACT:

• ROME: Anna Marie Clos: tel. 06-5885142, email: arura@libero.it• GERMANY: Svetlana Riecke, email: dzogcheninfo@aol.com• MERIGAR: Istituto Shang Shung office : tel.0564-966941,

email: ssinst@tiscali.it• KARMA LING, FRANCE: tel. 0033-0479257800;

email: info@karmaling.org , lhundroup@rimay.net• ENGLAND: Peter White, pwhite@i12.com

• NAPLES: Fabio Risolo: fabio.risolo@libero.it

• POMAIA: spc@iltk.it

• KUNSANGAR, RUSSIA: kunsang@dzogchen.ru

• AUSTRALIA: namgyalg@acr.net.au

Tibet there is the tradition ofpreparing what is called ‘pow-dered butter ’ that consists ofroasted barley flour to which but-ter, sugar , honey , and milk areadded. In Central Tibet this issubstituted by an of fering placedin a nicely painted box with twocompartments; one compartmentfilled with roasted barley flourand the other with roasted wheat. These of ferings are place on thealtar in the following way: at thecenter plates with nicely arrangedsweet biscuits, next to it, a head ofa sheep made with butter (inancient time it was probably areal sheep head that was placed)and the head of the sheep isadorned with jewels and scarvesand the mouth smeared with but-ter. The sheep symbolizes anoffering for the cattle herding ofthe past year and an auspiciousfactor for the success in cattleherding in the New Year. Next tothe sheep’s head, is a nice jar con-taining fresh sprouts of barley orwheat planted a couple of weeksbefore, as an offering for the pastyear’s crops and an auspiciousgrowing season for the New Year.Early on the first day of Losar, themain person responsible for thehouse, usually the mother, gets upearly in the morning to preparethe ‘chang skol’, a T ibetan alemade with barley to which tinysweet potatoes, molasses, butterare added and then boiled. Thisale and some sweet New Year bis-cuits are distributed to the mem-bers of the family while they arestill bed. Then a little later , from5:30 to 6AM, the members of thefamily wake up. Another traditionis to leave a bucket of water out-side the house exposed to thestars. This water is called water ofthe stars, ‘dkar chu’. In the morn-ing, before the stars have disap-peared from the sky, this water isbrought into the house and hotwater is added or the ‘dkar chu’ isheated, and when it is lukewarm,

the members of the family washthe five limbs: the face, mouth,hands and feet, with the water . Inthe very cold regions of Tibet, thewater is not left overnight as itmay turn to ice, but is onlyexposed to the stars for a while inthe early morning before dawn. Itis believed that the power of thestars reflected in the water cancontribute to elimination of dis-eases and other impediments thatthe person may have. When the family members meet,as soon as they have woken up,they greet each other with thephrase (bkra shis bde legs), whichmeans “Good luck and happinessto you!” Then the members ofthe family wear their best dressand ornaments and sit on theirrespective seats in order ofseniority. Two youths, a femaleand male or two of the same sex,distribute ‘chang’ or ale from anew stock, to members of thefamily in order of seniority recit-ing auspicious verses for theirfortune, long life and religiousactivities. In turn, the older mem-bers recite auspicious verses forthe younger members. The ‘pow-dered butter’ is presented to eachmember of the family who in turntakes the powder three times,scattering it in the air reciting, forexample in the Eastern regions:“A mouthful of powdered butter ,the glory of merit, and everlastinghappiness and joy . Oh what ajoy!” (phye mar gyi kha gang/bsod nam gyi dpal gang/skyiddga’la yun ring/ a la la ho).In theCentral Tibet the auspiciouswords are: “Good luck, happinessand abundance; may the beautifulmother be healthy and gain ever-lasting happiness; may this day ofthe New Year bring us togetheragain in happiness.” After this,tea is distributed in porcelain cupsadorned with the eight auspicioussymbols or in wooden cupsadorned and covered with silver .Then the members of the family

can see Rinpoche giving moredetailed explanations in Moscow,in 1992, in the video “T eachingsby Chögyal Namkhai Norbu onthe Vajra Dance from 1991 -1999”, published by the ShangShung Institute.

I looked up a more generalexplanation of “mandala” in anonline encyclopedia:

“The term mandala may beapplied to various tangibleobjects, depending upon the par-ticular religious practice that usesthe term. The term has Hindu ori-gins and is also used in the con-text of Buddhism. Mandala is thegeneric name for any plan/ chart/geometric pattern, which repre-sents the cosmos metaphysically/symbolically, a microcosm of theuniverse from the standpoint ofman.

The mandala is usually asymbolic representation, whichdepicts the qualities of theEnlightened Mind in harmoniousrelationship with one another . Amandala may also be used to rep-resent the path of spiritual devel-opment. On another level a man-dala can be a symbolic represen-tation of the universe, as in one ofthe four foundation practices ofthe Vajrayana, in which a man -dala representing the universe isoffered to the Buddha. Oneimportant type is the mandala ofthe “five Buddhas”, archetypalBuddha forms embodying vari-ous aspects of Enlightenment, theactual Buddhas depicted depend-

ing on the school of Buddhismand even the specific purpose ofthe mandala. The most commonmandala of this type is that of thefive jinas or conquerors, theBuddhas Vairocana, Aksobhya,Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, andAmoghasiddhi.

In the West, the term is alsoused to refer to the ‘personalworld’ in which one lives, the var-ious elements of the mandalabeing the activities and interestsin which one is engaged, the mostimportant being at the centre ofthe mandala, and the least impor-tant at the periphery . Depictingone’s personal mandala in pictor-ial form can give one a good indi-cation of the state of one’s spiritu-al life.”

Vajra Dance 1990

If my memory is correct, some ofus then discovered by chance thatRinpoche was coming to theCapanone every day , where hehad asked to be given a table andchair in order to study somethingmysterious related to the man-dala. We would come and sit qui-etly around, observing what wasgoing on. From time to time,Rinpoche would get up and movearound on the circles, lines andcolors, humming to himself andmainly ignoring us observers.

Part II Next Issue, Mirror 71

Losar, continued from previous page

continued from previous page

continued on next page

T H E M I R R O R N O V / D E C 2 0 0 4 7

MelbourneLevel 3Jan 2 - 11

Level 1Jan 15 – 24

Dream AnalysisJan 27 – 31

National CoordinatorJuliaTilleyJulia1@optusnet.com.au

SydneyLevel 2Feb 4 – 13

Local CoordinatorHelen Trehyhelentroy@iprimus.com.au

s h a n g - s h u n g i n s t i t u t e

Shang- Shung Institute Italy presentsA Course of Written& Spoken Tibetan taught by Elio GuariscoAugust 18-13, 2005

The Shang-Shung Institute, within the sphere of its activities of dif-fusing knowledge and preserving various aspects of the Tibetan cul-ture, is organizing a course of spoken and literary Tibetan. The courseis open to all those who wish to learn the Tibetan language, both schol-ars and non-scholars. The course will provide the basis for being ableto express oneself in Tibetan or read ancient and modern texts in thelanguage.Tibet possesses a treasury of knowledge, which is traditionally articu-lated in five main disciplines and five lesser , among which are: art,medicine, spirituality, astrology, crafts, music, poetry , etc. Many ofthese disciplines are known in the West but others, such as medicine,spirituality and art have features that are unique to Tibetan culture andare able, without doubt, to enrich our knowledge and our way of life.Each aspect of Tibetan culture is founded on the principles that gov -ern the forces of nature and on a profound knowledge of the real con-dition of the individual, beyond culture and time. These aspects werediscovered and transmitted in the isolation and peace of the “roof ofthe world” by ancient sages.Due to centuries of isolation, the greater part of this treasure hasremained unexplored and hidden within a language which is complexbut at the same time fascinating. It is language that we can learn inorder to rediscover the treasures that it holds.The course will take place in the new reading room of the library atMerigar and will be given by Elio Guarisco who will be flanked byother Tibetan assistants.

FIRST WEEK: SPOKEN TIBETANStudying the alphabet/Practicing reading/Practicingwriting/Conjugating verbs/Syntax/Elementaryvocabulary?Formulating simple phrases/Practicing conversationTimetable: 10am-1pm. 3pm-6pm

SECOND WEEK: SPOKEN AND LITERARY TIBETANStudying the rules of grammar/Reading and interpretation of shortoriginall Tibetan texts /Elementary vocabulary of the classical lan -guageTimetable: 10am-1pm. 3pm-6pm

TIBETAN KUNYE MASSAGE with Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo

March 4-6, April 1-3, April 15-17, and June 3-5, 2005

Kunye first appeared in the 8th century classic Tibetan medical text. Kunye is a unique form of mas -sage, involving the application of herbally treated oils with various “cold” and “hot” properties,

which, when applied, successfully treat problems of anxiety, tics, insomnia, fatigue and hearing loss,among others. Students will learn special massage techniques and the application of the medicinal

herbal oils. The oils help the subtle life force in the meridians flow more smoothly , invigorating thebody and mind.

Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo received her advanced degree from the Lhasa University School of TraditionalMedicine in 1988 where she also served a two-year residency after completing her five-year training

program (1983-1990) with two of Tibet’s foremost doctors, who are credited with the revival ofTibetan Medicine.

Join us for 4 Intensive Weekends (Friday eves, full days Sat. & Sun.) in a rare opportunity to studywith one of the few Tibetan Doctors in teaching in the West.

March 4-6, April 1-3, April 15-17, and June 3-5.$175.00 per weekend.

Continuing Education Credit Pending.

All programs will be held at: The SHANG SHUNG INSTITUTE

18 Schoolhouse RoadConway, MA 01341

(413) 369-4928Email: liz@shangshung.org

THE VIDEO JOURNAL NO. 4, the fourth and last issue for 2004, is currently beingmailed to all our subscribers. In this issue:

• Teachings from the Teachers' Training 2004,A video history of Tashigar del Norte

• Choegyal Namkhai Norbu speaking on Italian television in 1968!• Update on the reorganization project: Interview with Yeshi Namkhai• Recent Chronicles from Margarita

The first year of the Video Journal is now over. It has been a success. We warmlythank all those who have subscribed; your support allows us to enter the second

year with renewed energy and confidence. Subscriptions for the four issues of 2005are now open to all members of the Dzogchen Community at the same price of 2004,100 euros inclusive of air mailing anywhere in the world. Current subscribers canrenew online with credit card at the SSI secure site https://ssi.dzogchen.ru.Please note that since for security reasons we do NOT store your credit card num-

bers but erase them immediately after processing, even if you have already suppliedyour card number for 2004, you'll need to do it again for 2005. For any other infor-mation regarding subscriptions please write to: ssinst@tiscali.it.

*New: IN 2005, THE VIDEO JOURNAL WILL BE

AVAILABLE ALSO AS NTSC-DVD! This answers many requests coming frommembers living in NTSC countries like theUSA, JAPAN or Venezuela. Note: theNTSC format will be available only asDVD disc, not as VHS cassette. The fourissues of the Video Journal of 2004 willremain available on request (only asDVD), in PAL or NTSC format.

For any other information regardingsubscriptions please write to:

ssinst@tiscali.itFor technical questions about for-mats etc. write to:

maurizio.mingotti@iol.itFor contributing your videoson Community events pleasewrite to:

carla_caponi@iol.it

With Tashi Delegs to All,the Video JournalEditorial Staff

Dr. Nida in Australia

take breakfast of roasted wheatand rice with sweet potatoes, but-ter and resin called ‘ bras bsil’ .Then of ferings are made and tothe front altar in the home andthen in the temples. Anotherimportant activity of that morningis to go to meet one’s teacher andoffer the traditional white silkscarf and other of ferings andexpress one’ s wishes for his orher long life and happiness.On the second day of the NewYear, people visit the houses ofclose relatives and receive visitsof close relatives. On the thirdday, all the members of the fami-ly go to the top of the house tochange the prayer flags on theprayer flag pole on the roof ofone’s house and remain for awhile on the roof offering to eachother the powdered butter anddrinking tea. Then, after thebreakfast, together with the other

inhabitants of the area, they go toa sacred place nearby and authen-ticate prayer flags and performthe ritual of the ‘bsang’ offeringof the smoke of the juniper andother fragrant substances to thegods. From the fourth day onwardthe people visit the houses of theneighbors and invite guests formeals. They start to enjoy the fes-tivity, merrily engaging in variousplay and sports: playing dice,bagchen, singing, dancing, ridinghorses, pulling rope to measurestrength, archery competition,and running competitions. Thefestivity usually lasts for fifteendays, but for another fifteen daysthe people are still infected withthe atmosphere of the New Yearand unofficially continue to cele -brate.

Losar, continued from previous page

8

Traleg Kyabgon. “Mind at Ease: Self LiberationThrough Mahamudra Meditation.”

Boston: Shambhala2004 (266 pages, $16.95)

This bookfocuses onM a h a m u -

dra, a system ofmeditation mostclosely associatedwith the Kagyutradition. Theauthor states thats o m e t i m e sMahamudra isidentified with afourth vehicle,beyond theVajrayana (orT a n t r a y a n a ) ,called the Saha-jayana. Classify-ing in this wayemphasizes that“the Mahamudrateachings are aunique and sepa-rate vehicle intheir own right”(p.11) and notmerely the fruition of Tantra. The author translates “sahaj” as “coemer-gence,” though I think it has also been translated as “natural,” “sponta-neous,” or “effortless” by other authors.

Although there are dif ferences of lineage and practice betweenMahamudra and Dzogchen, which I am not competent to comment on,there appear to be much in common in terms of view. Great lamas suchas the Third and Tenth Karmapas were reputedly accomplished in bothsystems.

The book is or ganized into four main sections, Fundamentals,Ground Mahamudra, Path Mahamudra, and Fruition. The first section,which takes up half the book, provides an introduction to key concepts,and discusses the preliminary practices. The next section discussesBuddha Nature. or tatagathagarba, as the ground. The path is explainedas tranquility and insight meditation (shamatha and vipassana).Vipassana here means experientially identifying the three interdepen -dent aspects of mind: its empty essence, its luminous nature, and itscharacteristic of unceasing play.

“Whether deluded or undeluded, both mental states [that is, “pure”perception and “impure” perception] are referred to as the play of themind. The word “play” is used to emphasize that we ought not to takethese mental expressions too seriously , because they are not real orsolid” (p. 176). “Mahamudra provides us with a more permissivemethod of meditation that allows us to see our distorted thoughts andconflicting emotions without a more amiable and accepting attitude” (p.177)

Twenty pages are devoted to explaining various exercises for medi-tatively investigating the nature of mind. These include observing themind in motion, comparing it to the mind at rest, and seeing that thereis no essential difference. These exercises can lead to the meditationalexperiences of bliss, emptiness, and mental spaciousness (more oftenreferred to as “no-thought” by other authors). These experiences aresigns that the meditation is working, but they are not realizations and arenot to be given undue importance.

Self-liberation is the main principle. “Some meditators becomefrightened and anxious when afflicted with disturbing thoughts and con-flicting emotions. Often they will employ meditation on emptiness as anantidote [hoping] to make them disappear . [But} as emptiness and thethoughts and emotions are not separate, you should allow whateverexperiences you have to arise in the mind. This is how these thoughtsand emotions become self-liberated. Trying to suppress or eliminatethem through t he use of antidotes will only subtly reinforce [them]” (p.204).

This process ripens into the Four Yogas of Mahamudra, which arethe fruition. These are the yoga of one-pointedness, the yoga of non -conceptuality, the yoga of one flavor , and the yoga of non-meditation.On the surface, at least, these seem to closely parallel the four stages ofDzogchen Semde. Therefore, this book may be of interest to studentsof Dzogchen

by Paul Bail

b o o k r e v i e w

Chögyal Namkhai NorbuTHE BASIC YANTRAS OF THIRD, FOURTHAND FIFTH SERIES AND THE SEVENLOTUSESEuro 6.00Edited by Laura Evangelisti and Fabio AndricoTranslated from Tibetan by Adriano ClementeAny person approaching the practice of Yoga in gen-eral and in particular the true sense of Dzogchen, theteaching of self-perfection, should first of all be ableto relax body, voice and mind in their natural condi -tion. The Yantra exercises, which engage all threeaspects of body, voice and mind, comprise an excep-tional means to enable relaxation and consequentlythey should be deemed as a preliminary to any kindof practice.This manual, which is complementary to the manualcontaining all the preliminary sections of YantraYoga and the first and second series of basic yantras,illustrate the basic movements of the last three seriesof yantras and the seven lotuses. The medical bene-fits of the fifteen yantras herein described are includ-ed.This book is an extract from the Chögyal NamkhaiNorbu’s commentary to the original text of

Vairochana.

Chögyal Namkhai NorbuTHE PRACTICE OF SELF-LIBERATION OFTHE CAUSES OF SIX LOKASFROM THE LONGSAL CYCLETranscription from Oral TeachingsEuro 13.00“In the Dzogchen teachings a practice that is usedvery much is the Purification of the Six Lokas. Whatdoes Purification of the Six Lokas mean? We allhave dif ferent kinds of emotions; particularly wehave five or six emotions. We have all these emo -tions when we are in dualistic vision. We are alwaysfalling into dualistic vision, and then we are condi-tioned by emotions. We are always slaves of thosekinds of emotions and so we are distracted and weaccumulate many, many negative karmas, which arethe causes of the Six Lokas. The Six Lokas are recognized even in the Sutrateachings. They know them very well and call themsamsara. In the same way in Tantrism they know

they have to purify them. That is why they teachpractices like Ngöndro. The Dzogchen methods area little different. In Dzogchen we don’ t do purifica-tion only. In general purification means that we puri-fy what we accumulated, we purify and diminish ouraccumulation of karma and maybe also developmore clarity. But the Dzogchen method doesn’t onlypurify the karma we accumulated but also we main-ly purify our accumulation of causes.This teaching is called Gyüdrug Rangdrol. All sen-tient beings have their consciousness, and that con-sciousness, related to their karma, produces particu-lar accumulations. Liberating all of that is calledGyüdrug Rangdrol. This method for practicing thepurification of the Six Lokas is dif ferent and is animportant teaching for me.”This book contains the root-text of the terma, a shortcommentary to the root-text written by ChögyalNamkhai Norbu and the transcription of the oralteachings given at Merigar on August 2003. Usefuldrawings of the positions for the practice are includ-ed.

Chögyal Namkhai NorbuTHE PRACTICE IN DAILY LIFETranscription from Oral TeachingsEuro 9.00“Think about what you do from the early morninguntil the evening, what is your possibility?Everybody works, in the daytime we go to our job inthe office or in a shop, and tomorrow what do we do?We repeat what we did yesterday . The day aftertomorrow what do we do? We repeat. This is calledsamsara, we are always repeating. Repeatingbecause we eat repeatedly , we consume repeatedly ,and we go ahead that way. This is our concrete life.So when do you do your practice? In this case youhave to deal with your practice in relation to time.We must integrate the teaching in our daytime. Butintegrating doesn’ t mean becoming like Milarepa,renouncing everything and going on a mountain.Maybe some people have that possibility , but it isvery rare in the modern society, we have our family,our children, our children’ s children, so we have tohelp them, we have to work to make money . Wemust understand that we can’ t renounce all thesethings, but if we don’ t renounce then how do wepractice? We must go to the essence of the teaching.There is not much time, there is not much possibili-ty, and so we must not live in a fantasy .”

Only practitioners who have already received thetransmission directly from Chögyal Namkhai Norbucan order the books of this section.

Email: shangshunged@tiscali.itTel: 0039 0564 966039Web page: www.dzogchen.it

s h a n g s h u n g e d i t i o n sn e w b o o k s

T H E M I R R O R N O V / D E C 2 0 0 4 9

I N T E R N A T I O N A L C O M M U N I T Y C O N T A C T SAFRICAChristiane & Salvatore FioritoRua Padre Américo 353BeiraMozambique

ARGENTINATashigar*Rosa Altamirano– SecretaryComunidad DzogchenTashigarCalle pública S/NTanti 5155Pcia. de CórdobaTel & Fax: 0054- 3541-498 356Email: tashigar@dcc.com.ar

AUSTRALIANamgyalgar DzogchenCommunity in Australia*Vicki Forscutt - SecretaryPO Box 14 Central Tilba, NSW 2546 Tel/Fax: 61 02 4473 7668Email: namgyalg@acr.net.auWeb site: www.dzogchen.org.au

GarGeköes of NamgyalgarTel: 61(0)2 4473 7770Email: garland@acr.net.au

AUSTRIAPeter SochorDzogchen Community ofVienna, Austria Götzgasse 2/10, A-1100 Wien, AustriaTel: 0043 1 602 91 16Email: dzogchen.wien@gmx.atEmail: p.sochor@funtastic.net

Oliver F. Leick Dzogchen Community of Styria,AustriaGschmaier 139, A-8265Gr.SteinbachTel/Fax: 03386-8571 or 0676-3221365Email: dzogchen@utanet.atEmail: oleick@utanet.atHomepage: www.dzogchen.at

BELGIUM Katia Lytridon 16, rue Paul Goedert L-3330 Crauthem LuxembourgTel: 352 366591

BRAZILMuriella and Washington MalagaEspaço Tripitaka rua prof. Pedro Pedreschi 7102372-000 Sao Paulo SPTel: 11- 62042924/ 62621819Email:dzogchenbrasil@uol.com.br

CANADAPeter Dimitrov 305 - 11806 88th St. Delta, BC V4C 3C5Email: pacrim@axionet.com

Eve-Marie Breglia107 Armadale Ave.Toronto, ONT M65-3X3Tel: 416 767 5252Email: CHOD@cintegration.com

CZECH REPUBLICDzogchen o.s.U Bozich Bojovniku 3130 00 Praha 3 - ZizkovTel: 00420-724 086 224Email: info@dzogchen.cz

Web site:http://www.dzogchen.cz

DENMARK Anne-Grethe NyengFax:45 33 11 32 43

Email: nyeng@mail.dk

ESTONIAEstonia:Svetlana Kollyakova Email: skol@eer.ee

FINLANDMika SillanpaaKuhankeittajankatu 2250190 MikkeliFinlandEmail: Mika.Sillanpaa@uku.fi

FRANCE Association DzogchenDejam Ling, Le DevesF30570 St Andre deMajencoulesTel: 33-(0)467824490Web site: www.association-dzogchen.org

GERMANYDzogchen Gemeinscaft c/o Helga BetzHelga BetzLindemannstr. 12D-40237 Düsseldorffon+fax 49 (0)211 682657Email: Dzogcheninfo@aol.com

The office: office@dzogchen.de

Red gakyil: rot@dzogchen.deYellow gakyil:gelb@dzogchen.deBlue gakyil: blau@dzogchen.de

Oddiyana Shang Shung Edition:oddiyana@dzogchen.de

GREAT BRITAIN Amely Becker15A Langdon Park RoadLondon N6 5PSTel: 020 8348 6253Email: amely@globalnet.co.ukUK web site: www.redsand-stonehill.net/dzogchen/

GREECE Panayotis Stambolis Marinou Antypa 38 14121 N. Iraklio AthensTel: 30 1 2713765 Fax: 30 1 3411856

Nikos Liberopoulos18-20 Roikou st, 11743 AthensTel: (+301) 9215901Email: libero@otenet.gr

Katerina Loukopoulou & LamaSherap-StamatisP.O. Box 863974 ArneaEmail: lotuspetal1000@hot-mail.com

Northern Greece

Harris PantelidisMaria GiakoumakouV.Olgas 84B54643 ThessalonikiEmail: giakpa@incahellas.com

Thanos and Dina SvoronosAnalipseos 3254643 Thessaloniki

HOLLAND Web site: www.dzogchen.nl

HUNGARYZsolt Somogyvari Szalmarozsa ter 8.Budapest, H-1161Email: dzogchenhu@yahoo.com

ISRAELNoa BlassBiltmore Street 15 62194 Tel Aviv Tel/Fax: 972 3 605 75 43

ITALYMerigar* Comunita Dzogchen Anna De Sole -SecretaryArcidosso, 58031 GR, Italy Tel: 39 0 564 966837 Fax: 39 0 564 968110 Email:merigaroffice@tiscalinet.it

AzamlingMoreno MarcatoVia Culasso 214053 CanelliAT 0141

JAPANTsugiko Kiyohashi 5-11-23 Shimomeguro Meguro-Ku TokyoTel: (office) 81 3 3712 7507 Fax: 81 3 3716 7248

Junichi Chigirajchigira@jp.oracle.com

Edgar Cookecooke@tokyo.email.ne.jp

LATVIAPadmaling Beljutins ElenaLepju 5-55Riga LV 1016Tel: 371 -2-437343Fax: 371-7-187233Email: nirvana@apollo.lv

LITHUANIADorjeling Lithuanian CommunityDorjelingEmail: Lithuania@dzogchen.ruWeb site: New Web Sitewww.dzogcenas.lt.

Algis LukoseviciusArchitektu 176-442049 VilniusTel: 370 686 54240

LUXEMBOURGKatia Lytridou16, rue Paul Goedert Creuthem L-3330

MALAYSIATham Wye Min 8669C Klebang Kechil 75200 Melaka Tel: 60 35 6162

Kwok Kee Chang 11-A Jalan Jujor, 1/5 Taman, Bakti Ampang Selangor, W. Malaysia Tel: 60 3 9847167

MEXICO The Quensel FamilyZaragoza 35Real de Mexico 78550Tel: 0052 488 75055

Gabriele Tremp NoucheDomicilio ConocidoReal de CatorceSan Luis Potosi 78550Email:real_space14@hotmail.com

NEPALVikki FloydG.P.O. Box 8974CPC 069ThamelKathmandu

Res.Tel# 00977-1-4270106(after 8.00 p.m.)vikkifloyd@hotmail.com

NEW CALEDONIAMarie LascombesNoumeaEmail: ssawayaa@canl.nc

NEW ZEALAND Email: nzgakyil@yahoo.co.nz

NORWAYGordon Cranmer 4157 Utstein Kloster MosteroyTel: 47 4 514705

Community Web site:http://go.to/dzogchen.no

PERU Comunidad Dzogchen del PeruDzogchen Community of Peru Juan Bustamante (Hota)Enrique Palacios 1125-C,Miraflores, Lima 18, PeruTel: 445 5003, Fax 447 2984, cel946 7542Email: kunzan@hotmail.com

POLANDWspolnota DzogczenSkr.pocztowa 33130-950 Krakow Email: dzogczen@dzogczen.pl

Cezary Wozniak 31-510 Krakow Ul. Rakowicka 21/3, Poland Tel: 48 12 21 7835Email: cwozniak@bci.krakow.pl

PaldenlingLysa Gora 16838-230 Nowy ZmigrodPolandTel: (48) 605227802Email: jmarci@poczta.onet.pl

Web site (under reconstruction):www.dzogczen.pl

PORTUGALVitor PomarFonte Salgada 713-Z8800 TaviraPortugalTel: 081 323780Email:vitorpomar@mail.telepac.pt

Lydia FerreraRua da Nazare 2Vila Facaia2560 Torres VedrasTel: 351 61 911235

RUSSIAN FEDERATION Kunsangar address is:142500 RUSSIA, MoscowregionPavlovskiy Posad, RUPS,a/ya13, BF “Dostoyanie”Nina Rusanovich, SecretaryTel /Fax: 7 096 43 21156Tel: 7 901 900 36 46Email: kunsang@gar.legko.ru

Tamara Ilukhina Coordinator of Moscow Shang-Shung EditionsEmail: damaru_i@mail.ru

Gregory Mokhin, (SMS contact)Email: mokhin@bog.msu.ru

St. Petersburg Community“Sangyeling”Email: sangyeling@mail.ruSt. Petersburg Shang-ShungEditionsEmail: shangshung-spb@mail.ru

Buryatian Community“Kundrolling” Olga Ochirova Email: ochirov@buryatia.ru

Buryatian Community“Namselling”Alexander Vyaznikovtzev Email: yantra@inbox.ru

Kalmikian Community“Namgyalling”Denisova, Tatyana 2-Y Microraion-14 apt.3 Elista, Kalmikiya 358000 Email: namgyal@mail.ru

Raisa Nemgirovaul.A-Sanana, 64,Elista, Kalmikiya 358004

Vladivostok DzogchenCommunity “Kunsanling”Tel: 007 4232 266000Email: kunsanling@mail.pri-morye.ru

Bair Ochirov Email: senge@mail.ru

Igor Drabyazg Email: putnik@mail.primorye.ru

Irkutsk Dzogchen Community:Tamara Dvoretzkaya Email: nich@isea.ru

Kazan (Tatarstan):Safura Gureeva Email: m-ilian@mail.ru

Kirov:Andrey Boyarintzev Email: unison@magic.kirov.ru

Samara:Viktor Krekker Email: krekker@sama.ru

SERBIA/EX YUGOSLAVIAJelena ZagorcicVojvode Stepe 28011000 Beograd381 11 462555Email: ela.z@EUnet.yu

Ivana Radicevic KaramanOtona Zupancica 3611070 BelgradeTel: 381 11 604115Email: dakini@EUnet.yu

SINGAPORE K C OngTel: 96789428Email: titad@pacific.net.sg

Goh Jong Tai Tel: 5624644

Tan Yan TeeTel: 96566893 Email: yantee@singnet.com.sg

SOUTH AFRICAJerry Smith10 Dan Pienaar Ave.Florida North, Gauteng,South AfricaTel: 011 672 7250

Darryl van Blerk104 Park Road, Walmer EstateCape Town7925, South AfricaTel: 27-21-4470129Fax: 27-21-4221265 Email:zebracross@intekom.co.za

SPAIN Dzogchen Community, SpainApt. Postal 46220

continued on next page

The MirrorNewspaper of the

InternationalDzogchen Community of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

Main Office:PO Box 277

Conway, MA01341USA

Tel: 413 369 4208Fax: 413 369 4473

Email: Mirrornk@cs.com

European Office:The Mirror

MerigarArcidosso58031 GR

ItalyEmail: lizmirror@tiscalinet.it

Tel: 39 3298865292 Fax: 39 0564- 968 110

Editorial Staff:Naomi Zeitz,Tsegyalgar

Conway, MAUSA

Liz Granger Merigar

Arcidosso, Italy

Literary Editor:John Shane

Advisors:Adriano Clemente

Anna EidBarbara Paparazzo

Des BarryJim Valby

Layout & Design:N. Zeitz

Web Site Managers:Malcolm Smith

John Herr

Printer:Turley Publications

Palmer, MAUSA

Distribution:Tsegyalgar at

Conway,MA, USA

Subscription Rate/6 Issues:$35US available

throughTsegyalgar

35 Eurothrough Merigar

Visa and Master cardwelcome

ON LINE MIRRORON LINE MIRRORwwwwww.melong.com.melong.com

All material ©2004 byby The Mirror

Reprint by permission onlyWe reserve the right to edit

all subsmissions

10

Is your contact Is your contact information up to date? If not please contact information up to date? If not please contact

mirrornk@cs.commirrornk@cs.comThank you!Thank you!

The MirrorThe Mirror

28028 Madrid

SWEDENAlexander & PernillaDobronravoffUlrikedalsvagen 6i #201224 58 Lund, SwedenTel: 046 13 70 34 Mobile: 073 655 1968Email: pernilla_liedgren_dobron-ravoff@hotmail.com

SWITZERLANDMonique Leguen 12 D ch.Maisonneuve CH-1219 ChatelaineTel/Fax : 0041-22-7973721Email: leguen@infomaniak.ch

TAIWANArmim LeeTel: 886-2-23250697 Fax: 886-2-23258857

Sophia WuEmail:twinklingstar@hotmail.com

THAILAND Geoffrey Blake & LynneKlapecki33 Soi Lang Suan - Ploenchit RdBangkok 10330Tel. 66 -2-2543555 orTel. 66-2-2545532 orTel. 66-2-2549061 (direct line)Email: gblake@mozart.inet.co.th

UKRAINE Kiev:Alexander Kirkevitch Email: kirk@uitcha.kiev.ua

Kharkov Community“Karmaling”Igor Mironenko Email: garikkaz@assa.vl.net.ua

Donetzk:Igor Berkhin Email: rangdrol@mail.ru; dhar-ma@donapex.net

Chernigov:Alexander Belskiy Email: belsky_a@yahoo.com

Odessa:Taras Kravtchenko Email: rurga@paco.net

Crimean Community“Dedrolling”:Valeriy Fesun Email: malmayak@a-teleport.com

Simferopol/Yalta Community:Roman Suhostavskiy Email: codram@mail.ru

USATsegyalgar*Ed Hayes -Secretary P.O. Box 277 Conway, MA 01341Tel: 413 369 4153 Fax: 413 369 4165 Email: DzogchenUSA@com-puserve.com

Dzogchen Community of AlaskaMartha Quinn9210 Long Run Dr.Juneau, AK 99801Tel: 907 790-1908Email:quinnm@mail.jsd.k12.ak.us

Pat MartinYellow GakyilDzogchen Community of AlaskaPO Box 35805Juneau, AK 99803Tel: 907-780-6643

Lynn Sutherland 5717 N. Washtenaw Ave.

Chicago, IL 60659Tel: 773 784 4168Email: lynnsuth@aol.com

Dzogchen Community WestCoast Dondrup Ling2748 Adeline St. Suite DBerkeley, CA 94703Tel: 510 644 2260Email: aha@dzogchencommuni-tywest.orgWeb site: www.dzogchencom-munitywest.org

Dzogchen Community of NewMexico Alma Socorro27 Vereda MesitaSanta Fe, New Mexico 87505Tel: 505 466 4280Email: almasocorro@nets.com

Lidian KingPO Box 1014Crestone, CO 81131Tel: 719 256 5263Email: lidian@fone.net

New York DzogchenCommunity Email:kathymcgrane@hotmail.com

Susan Indich 129 Kaelepulu Dr. KailuaHawaii, 96734 Tel: 808 261 3469 Fax: 808 524 4342Email: indichcoll@aol.com

JereneP.O. Box 2181Kealakekua, Hi. 96750 Tel: 808 323-9714Email: jerenela@hawaii.rr.com

VENEZUELANorth Tashigar Gakyil:tashinor@gruposyahoo.com.ar

Tashigar NorteSecretary - Gloriana GonzalezCalle Bolivar Nro 32Valle de Pedro GonzalezMunicipio Gomez, Isla deMargaritaTel: 00 58 295 415 5800Email:tashinor@mail.dzogchen.ruWeb site: www.dzogchen-venezuela.org

Carmen RivasPO Box Apartado Postal 123Juan GriegoMargarita, VenezuelaEmail:marcarmenrivas@yahoo.com.ar

Pablo Lau Rivera Lhundrubgar Pba. Res.Pedermales Av. Paez Montalban II 1021 Caracas Tel: 58 2 4421434 Fax: 58 2 340643 Email: ablola@hotmail.com

Elias Capriles Apartado Postal 483 Merida 5101 Tel & Fax: 58 74 440026 Email: elicap@ciens.ula.ve

Merida Dzogchen Community Apartado Postal 483 Merida 5101 Fax: 58 74 440026

????

norbunetTo subscribe to the Dzogchen Community:norbunet@xs4all.nl

WORLD WIDE TRANSMISSIONANNIVERSARY OF GARAB DORJE

1ST TIBETAN MONTH – 14TH & 15TH DAYFEBRUARY 22 & 23

ABOUT THE WORLDWIDE TRANSMSSION

Newcomers who want to participate in the worldwide transmissionmust be truly interested in the Teachings transmitted by our Teacher,Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, and practiced in our worldwideDzogchen Community. Participants in this Transmission should tryto receive Teachings from Rinpoche in the future. After havingreceived the Transmission, they should also try to train and collabo -rate with the Sangha of the International Dzogchen Community ofChögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche.Originally, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu had the idea of a “Transmissionat a Distance” because he wanted to help people in dif ferent situa-tions, who could not travel at that time to meet the Teacher. TheTransmission will enable them to practice the Dzogchen Teachingstransmitted by Rinpoche without needing direct contact with theTeacher at that time.

Here is a summary of how the Live-Video-Empowerment works:

1. To receive the World Wide Transmission, new students need toparticipate with an experience student who will host both the prelim-inary explanation as well as the actual practice. A long-time studentof Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, well in advance of the event,should give the explanations.2. Hosts of Empowerments with the videotape should be membersof the International Dzogchen Community.3. For new and interested persons, it is important to have seen theexplanation by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche that is also on thevideotape, in advance. They should also have the possibility to clar -ify any doubts about the practice on the videotape with some serious,dedicated older students of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpochebefore the Empowerment.4. Exactly at the given time (see timetable) at your place, you startthe Transmission Video at the starting point of the part of theAnniversary of Garab Dorje. At that moment - worldwide - studentsand newcomers start to practice this session of the Thun together,which ends with the dedication of merits.

We wish you all a successful practice.Please contact your local Community for details.

ScheduleTuesday Feb 22 200517:00 Hawaii18:00 Fairbanks Alaska19:00 San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver20:00 Denver, Salt Lake City, Pagosa Springs, Edmonton21:00 Chicago, Mexico City22:00 New York City, Conway, Montreal, Atlanta, Detroit, Havana,Kingston, Indianapolis, Ottawa, Lima, Quito23:00 Caracas, San Juan, Bermuda24:00 Buenos Aires, San Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago

Wednesday Feb 23 200503:00 GMT, London, Dublin, Lisbon04:00 Rome, Berlin, Oslo, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Copenhagen,Brussels, Geneva, Prague, Salzbur g, Stockholm, Budapest, Vienna,Warsaw05:00 Helsinki, Athens, Ankara, Beirut, Jerusalem, Vilnius,Johannesburg06:00 Moscow , Murmansk, Baghdad, Kuwait City , Riyadh,Tashkent07:00 ODDIYANA, Islamabad08:30 Delhi, Bombay08:45 Kathmandu09:00 Dthaka09:30 Rangoon10:00 Bangkok, Jakarta, Saigon11:00 Singpaore, Bejing, Lhasa, Manila, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur,Taipei, Perth12:00 Tokyo, Seoul13:00 Brisbane, Vladivostok13:30 Adelaide14:00 Kamchatka, Melbourne, Sydney15:00 Fiji16:00 Wellington, Auckland

International Community Contacts con’t. from previous page

On Tuesday, November 30th, Sil-vana Pisani died in Naples, Italy .Silvana had met the Master and

the Teachings in the 1970s. She marriedAntonio Festa and they had a child,Francesco. For many years she assisted inthe development of Merigar and collabo-rated as a member of the Yellow Gakyildedicating herself with ener gy and seri -ousness to her duties. She suf fered for along time with the illness that led to herdeath and passed her last days with dif fi-culty and in pain. We wish her all the best

from the depths of our hearts in whichever dimension of existence sheis in and will be in, in the future.

T H E M I R R O R N O V / D E C 2 0 0 4 11

m e r i g a r

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

C O M M U N I T Y N E W SC O M M U N I T Y N E W S

e u r o p e

MerigarDzogchen Community in Italy

Arcidosso 58031GR Italy

Tel:39 0564 968 837Email:merigaroffice@tiscalinet.itWeb site: web.tiscalinet.it/merigar

Merigar Winter Program 2005Sat. 22nd – Sun. 23rd JanuaryCourse with Barrie Simmons“Managing conflicts”The course starts on Saturday at 10.00Cost: 100 euro with discounts for members

Sat. 29th – Sun. 30th JanuaryXitro practice retreatThe retreat starts on Saturday at 10.00

Tue. 8th FebruaryLast day of the Wood Monkey year.16.00 Purification of the 6 Lokas practice19.00 Ganapuja

Wed. 9th FebruaryLOSAR, the first day of the Wood Bird year.9.00 Amitayus long-life practice19.00 Ganapuja and authentication of the Lungta

Fri. 11th February9.00 Sang ritual

Wed. 23rd FebruaryAnniversary of Garab DorjeWorldwide transmission day4.00 Garab Dorje guru yoga

Sat. 26th – Sun. 27th FebruaryChöd practice retreatThe retreat starts on Saturday at 10.00

Fri. 4th – Sun. 6th MarchDance of the Song of the Vajra course for the first two groups(up to Bhetasana…)with Prima MaiThe course starts on Friday at 16.00Cost: 105 euro with discounts for members

Sat. 12th – Sun. 13th MarchCourse on “Emotions and the capacity to listen”With Sicilia d’AristaThe course starts on Saturday at 9.30Cost: 50 euro with discounts for members

Fri. 25th – Mon. 28th MarchExplanation and practice retreatWith Costantino AlbiniThe retreat starts on Friday at 10.00Cost. 100 euro with discounts for members

MERIGAR, 58031 ARCIDOSSO 58031 GR, ITALYTel. ++39 0564 966837Fax: ++ 39 0564 968110merigaroffice@tiscali.it www.dzogchen.itThe office is open from Monday to Sunday from 9.30 am to 1 pm.Saturday also open from 2.30 pm – 5.30 pm. Wednesday closed.

ENROLLMENTIf you wish to enroll for a course, seminar or retreat, please contact theoffice to book a place. It is important to contact the of fice sufficientlyahead of time since courses that do not reach the minimum number ofparticipants will be cancelled. To take part in the activities of theAssociazione Culturale Comunità Dzogchen you need to be a member .A first installment of 15 euro for the Ordinary Member ’s card will berequired before taking part. A first installment alone does not entitle youto the discounts for members.Discounts for paid up members are: 20% for Ordinary Members, 40%for Sustaining Members and 50% for students and retired people on alow income.A further discount of 10% will be given to those who enroll for cours-es at least 3 weeks in advance with a deposit of 30% of the price of thecourse, sent by postal order to the “Associazione Culturale ComunitàDzogchen” Merigar – 58031 Arcidosso GR, Italy, specifying the nameof the course which is being paid for .

VAJRA DANCECOURSE with KARIN HEINEMANN in Munich, Germany:

February 4th - 6th, 2005 f

Dance of the Liberation of the Six Lokas

Everyone interested is welcometo participate.

Begins Friday 17.00 at theStudio Freitänzer, Euckenstr.15ending Sunday afternoon at16.00.

Fees: Euro 130. -, Advance-bookinguntil 1/3/05 Euro 120. - Without advancedbookingEuro 100. - For members, advance-bookingEuro 90. - Without advancedbooking

Reduction for people with lowincome on inquiry

Please remit to the account of:DzogchengemeinschafDeutschland e.V .,StadtsparkasseDüsseldorf, Knt.-Nr.: 11047891,BLZ: 30050110, IBAN DE 403005 0110 0011 047891,

SWIFT/BIC DUSSDEDDXXX

For registration & more infor-mation please contact::Regine Zettler, Email: Regine-125@gmx.netTel: 0049-(0) 89-74298244

p a s s a g e sWedding announcement:Married in Vienna/Austria on December 9th, 2004 Elisha Koppensteiner from AustriaHonza Dolensky from the Czech Republic

We wish them a long and happy life together!

Yantra Yoga in St Petersburg,RussiaJanuary&February2005The St. Petersbur g DzogchenCommunity, Russia is happy toannounce Courses on YantraYoga with Vitya Krachkovsky ,certified Yantra-Yoga Instructor.The schedule is the following:

The course for beginners:January 25-30The course on Kumbhaka:February 2-6

On weekdays all the sessionswill be in the evenings, on week-ends there will be 2 sessions inthe afternoons each day.

Please send us your requests forparticipation as soon as possibleon email pola@iefphb.nw.ru,since we urgently need the infor-mation on the number of partic-ipants.

p a s s a g e sHappy Anniversary!!!!!

Dec.16 2004 -Heartfelt congratulations to Barrie and Nancy Simmons on the 50th

anniversary of your wedding from your many friends in theDzogchen Community.

Renew your Renew your subscription subscription

on line on line at wwwat www..

melong.commelong.com

The New Merigar LetterAs you may know, the Merigar Letter is in a state of transformation.Starting in February, there will not only be the old newsletter but alsoa magazine with a cover in color . Since the monthly newsletter willbecome exclusively a news sheet, we considered just to have an onlineversion in the future instead of printing it, bearing in mind that as soonas the Community website is ready, the newsletter will become part ofit and all Community members will be able to consult it. The people,who are in char ge of organizing in the cities and towns, should printout some copies of the newssheet for those who have dif ficulty con-sulting it online. If you wish to receive an online copy , please sendyour email address to the office at Merigar. The first issue of the newversion of the Merigar Letter will come out in February , in printedform and in color. Since this new version is intended for all of Europe,it will be in both Italian and English. The first issue will be dedicatedto a presentation of the Dzogchen Community in general. We under-stand that it may not be easy to adapt to all these changes and ask forpatience and collaboration on the part of everyone.

Lucia Antonelli

Seventh Lojong Retreat in Slovakia with Oliver LeickOctober 29-30, 2004

1212

I N T E R N A T I O N A LC O M M U N I T Y N E W S

t s e g y a l g a r e a s t & w e s tTsegyalgar Schedule 2005 JANUARY

Jan. 14th-16th:Bagchen Learning and Lungta Flag Making Weekend

Jan. 28th-30th:Practice Weekend for Guru Yoga of the White A and World WideTransmission of Guru Yoga Explanation

FEBRUARY

Feb 6th:Explanation for World Wide Transmission of Guru Yog

Feb. 8th:Purification of the 6 Lokas with Vajrasattva Practice 7:30amGanapuja with Authentication of Lungta Flags and Namkhas 7:30pm

Feb 9th:

LOSARPractice of Mandarava 7:00am

Tibetan Losar Party 7:00pm

Feb 12th:Practice of Sang Followed by hang-

ing of Lungta Flags 9:30am

Bagchen Game Night 7:00pm

Feb 13th:Explanation for W orld WideTransmission of Guru Yoga

February 18-20 | VAJRA DANCE – Tsegyalgar, Conway, MassachusettsThe Dance of the Liberation of the Six Lokas with Anastasia Mc Ghee

Feb 22nd:Anniversary of Garab Dorje World Wide Transmission of the State ofGuru Yoga Explanation 9pm followed by Practice 10pm E.S.T.February 25-27 | YANTRA YOGATsegyalgar, Conway, MassachusettsIntroduction to Yantra Yoga with Paula Barry

P R E S E N T E D B Y T S E G YA L G A R, T H E D Z O G C H E N C O M M U N I T I E S O F N O RT H A M E R I C A

www.dzogchencommunitywest.org

Yantra Yoga | Vajra DanceA S T A U G H T B Y T I B E T A N D Z O G C H E N M A S T E R C H O E G Y A L N A M K H A I N O R B U

www.tsegyalgar.org

INTRODUCTION TO YANTRA YOGAaccording to the system of Vairocana transmitted by ChoegyalNamkhai Norbu

In Yantra Yoga there are 108 movements and positionsarranged in 5 groups which synchronize our body,breath and mind in order to harmonize and introduce us to our natural state. Yantra Yoga is one of the oldestsurviving complete systems of Yoga and has been practiced and taught continuously since the 8th century.

January 7-9 Berkeley, CaliforniaInstructor: Jey ClarkContact: aha@dzogchencommunitywest.orgTelephone: 510-644-2260 February 4-6 Santa Fe, New MexicoInstructor: Lynn SutherlandContact: DzogchenNM@aol.comFebruary 25-27 Tsegyalgar, Conway, Massachussets Instructor: Paula BarryContact: secretary@tsegyalgar.orgTelephone: 413-369-4153

Jey Clark, Lynn Sutherland and Paula Barry have been authorizedto teach Yantra Yoga by Choegyal Namkhai Norbu.

INTRODUCTION TO THE VAJRADANCEas taught by Choegyal Namkhai Norbu

The main aim of the Vajra Dance is the integration of movement and contemplation. This practice is a meditation in movement, leading to deep relaxationand the harmonizing of one's physical and mentalenergies. The Vajra Dance is practiced on a Mandala, representing both the inner existence of the individualand the outer dimension of the universe.

January 21-23 Berkeley, CaliforniaContact: aha@dzogchencommunitywest.orgTelephone: 510-644-2260

February 18-20 Tsegyalgar, Conway, MassachussetsContact: secretary@tsegyalgar.orgTelephone: 413-369-4153March 4-6 Santa Fe, New MexicoContact: DzogchenNM@aol.com

All three Vajra Dance courses will be taught byAnastasia McGhee.Anastasia McGhee has been authorized to teach the Vajra Danceby Choegyal Namkhai Norbu.

Space is limited; pre-registration is required.

The meaning of the Tibetan term Dzogchen, "Great Perfection," refers to the true primordial state of every individual. Yantra Yoga and Vajra Dance present us with practical methods for coming into a direct understanding of our nature throughour actual embodiment. As we apply these methods with our body, speech (or energy), and mind, we can begin to discovertrue relaxation, which in turn allows us to expand our minds and become more flexible in all dimensions of our experience.

BAJA MEMBERSHIP UPDATEDear Sangha,We have been privileged to establish a new Gar of the DzogchenCommunity in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Additionally, Rinpochehas approved an expanded set of membership opportunities in thenew Gar as described below. We strongly urge you to join us! Membership is reciprocal with theother Gars worldwide and at higher membership levels you can des-

ignate part of your membership for your local Gakyil or Gar . We look forward to having you join us! The Baja Gakyil

BAJA GAR (TSEGYALGAR WEST) ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

NEW MEMBERS For the first three years of participation in the Community , members will be considered “new.”

Year 1, 350 pesos, or $35.00Year 2, 750 pesos, or $75.00Year 3, 100 pesos, or $100.00

Membership Discounts: 50% discount if you are a student, or under 25 years old, or over 60 years old

Privileges: 5% discount on Dzogchen Community events and retreats (in Mexico only); and notification by email aboutall Dzogchen Community public retreats and events, including Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche’ s teaching sched-ule.

REGULAR MEMBERS (Year 4 and Onwards, or Earlier if You Choose)

Individual, 1,750 pesos, or $175Family, 2,225 pesos, or $225

Membership Discounts: 50% for students, and for those under 25 and over 60.

Privileges: Annual subscription to “The Mirror;” participation in the SMS (Santi Maha Sangha) training; par-ticipation in the Gakyil; members’ newsletter; 20% discount on all retreats and events; and email notificationas described above.

SPONSOR MEMBERS

Individual, 3,500 pesos, or $350Family, 4,500 pesos, or $450

Membership Discounts: Same as above for students, youth and seniors.

Privileges: 40% discount on all retreats and events; plus one free retreat per year (in Mexico only); otherwise same as for regular members.

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

Individual, 5,000 pesos, or $500Family, 7,500 pesos or $750

Membership Discounts: Same as above for students, youth and seniors.

Privileges: One free retreat and one free workshop per year (in Mexico only) and otherwise the same as for sponsor mem-

Tsegyalgar, Dzogchen Communityin America,

18 Schoolhouse Road, Conway, MA 01341Tel: 413-369-4153 | Fax: 413-369-4473

Email: secretary@tsegyalgar.org

continued on next page

MAY 2005

Chögyal Namkhai NorbuTsegyalgar

May 6-8Teaching Retreat with RinpocheMay 10Inauguration of Universal MandalaSanti Maha SanghaMay 11-12 – SMS II examMay 13-17 – SMS III training2005 KHANDROLING VAJRA DANCE COURSESwith Prima Mai & Adriana Dal Borgo

May 11-13 Dance of Liberation of 6 Lokas with Bodhi Krause(3 days) May 16-21 Vajra Dance Teacher Training level I (6 days) May - Khandroling Vajra Dance daily practice session (ifweather permits)

MAY 2005 TSEGYALGAR –Santi Maha Sangha with Costantino Albini – to be confirmed (date and participation and exact program)

Introduction to Contemplation with Costantino Albini –To beconfirmed (date and participation)

2005 YANTRA YOGAAdvanced Course with Fabio Andrico / Laura Evangelisti – tobe confirmed (date and participation)

T H E M I R R O R N O V / D E C 2 0 0 4 13

I N T E R N A T I O N A LC O M M U N I T Y N E W S

s o u t h a m e r i c a

Aloe Experts Needed

The Dzogchen Community project of Aloe Vera cul-tivation and production in Margarita has reached astage where expertise and personnel are required, inorder to continue its development. The Board ofDirectors would like to know if these exist within theDzogchen Community, before we look for them else-where.

We would like to hear from anyone who can collabo-rate with specific advice, and there are opportunitiesfor temporary or permanent employment.

These are the skills we need:

1. General knowledge of commercial and or ganicfarming, ideally also experience with Aloe Vera culti-vation.

2. Expertise in financial management and planning.

3. Expertise in company management.

4. Expertise in high quality organic product develop-ment and production.

5. Expertise in product distribution and marketing.

6. Experience in personnel training and management.

7. Technical / scientific expertise, to develop, installand operate an appropriate processing plant.

We are hoping to find Community members whohave appropriate skills, and Spanish language fluencyor ability to learn quickly, to add to our currentresources and/or take over the enterprise in a moreprofessional way.

If you think you may have these abilities, and areinterested in the chance to visit, or live and work inMargarita, please contact the Board of Directors ofProyecto Comunitario Tashigar del Norte, at pctn-info@mail.dzogchen.ru

Dick Drury, Board Chairman

Tashigar NorthCalle Bolivar Nro 32

Valle de Pedro GonzalezMunicipio Gomez, Isla de Margarita

VenezuelaTel: 0058 4165800

Email:tashinor@mail.dzogchen.ru

Tashigar North Gakyil:tashinor@gruposyahoo.com.ar

Tashigar SouthRosa Altamirano – Secretary

Comunidad DzogchenTashigar

Calle pública S/NTanti 5155

Pcia. de CórdobaArgentina

Tel & Fax: 0054- 3541-498 356Email: tashigar@dcc.com.ar

bers (40% discount on all retreats and events).

FOUNDATION MEMBERS

Individual, 25,000 pesos or $2,500Family, 50,000 pesos, or $5,000

All Community retreats and events free on a yearly basis (in Mexicoonly), plus all privileges listed for sustaining members.

WORKING MEMBERS

1. 160 hours (20 days) in one year of verified work for the Community(the candidate must document his or her hours and have them vouchedfor by the Gakyil of the site they are assisting) is equivalent to NewMembership for Years 1 to 3.

2. 360 hours (45 days in one year) of verified work for the Communityis equivalent to Regular membership.

3. 720 hours (90 days) of verified work for the Community is equiva-lent to Sponsor Membership

Notes: There is no mixing and matching, part financial, part work con-tribution toward membership. Additional hours of work can be carriedover to the following year ’s membership. The Community will supplyletters of recommendation and documentation to verify the work con-tributed by working members.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

The establishment of levels of membership is meant to make member-ship in the Dzogchen Community as accessible and meaningful as pos-sible for the members, while assisting the Community in its work.These varying levels are not meant to imply that any level of member-ship is better or worse than any other level. All constructive participa-tion is deeply appreciated.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The amount of income obtained through memberships, and the progressachieved by the Gar will be documented and communicated to themembers each year.

LOCAL GAKYILS

There has been a policy of returning up to 50% of the membership valueto the local Gakyil with which the member is af filiated, if requested.We will continue that policy at the Sponsor, Sustaining, and Foundationmembership levels. Send your full membership to the Baja Gar, and up to half (you decide)will be sent to the primary Community site you designate (pleaseinclude address of site). You will receive a confirmation that yourmoney has been sent as designated.

WHERE TO SEND YOUR MEMBERSHIP: The membership period for the Baja Gar (T segyalgar West) will runfrom January 1 to December 31st in a calendar year , though it is possi-ble to join at any time. All except new memberships will be pro-rated,depending on the number of months left in the year, if the member joinsafter January. (If you join from November – December of 2004, themembership will cover all of 2005).

Please mail your membership check (dollars or pesos) along with 2passport photos and the form below to the following: Baja Gar (T segyalgar West), c/o 755 Euclid Avenue, Berkeley , CA94708, USA. Make your check out to: Dzogchen Community WestCoast Winter Gar Fund

Or wire your membership fee as follows: Wells Far go Bank, 1800Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707, USA; Account name: DzogchenCommunity West Winter Gar Account; Account number: 0178831467; Routing number: 511400393SWIFT CODE: WFBIUS6S.

Please send us an email to let us know that you have wired your mem-bership fees to our account. You will still need to send in two passportphotos and your contact information.

You will receive an email confirmation of your membership number ,which you can use to register for retreats worldwide until you receiveyour new official membership card.

When we have received by mail: A. your two passport photos; B. thecompleted form below; and C. your membership fee - you will be sentyour new membership card and number from Tsegyalgar West. Youwill also receive a letter confirming the level of membership to whichyou have subscribed, and the privileges, which accrue to it.

Reminder: at the Sponsor, Sustaining and Foundation membership lev-els, you may assign up to 50% of your membership to a local Gakyil orGar other than Tsegyalgar West.The customary 20% and 40% discount rates for the dif fering member-ship levels are honored throughout the world at retreats with Namkhai

Norbu Rinpoche. The possibility of earning free retreats and events is a feature only of retreats and events inMexico plus being a member at least at the sponsor level in the Baja Gar or Tsegyalgar West.

If you have questions, please email the following: carolmfields@aol.com

TSEGYALGAR WEST (BAJA GAR) MEMBERSHIP FORM

1. Date__________________

2. Name: _____________________________________________________

3. Address: _____________________________________________________

4. Email address ______________________________ Fax _____________________

5. Phone number(s) _____________________________________________________

6. Senior? (60 or older) Yes_____ No _______

7. Student or youth? (under 25 or in school fulltime?) Yes__ No ___

8. Date of introduction to Dzogchen Community? ___________________________

9. Previous Dzogchen Community member? Yes _______ No ________ Where? ____________________ How Long? _____________________

10. Level of membership you are selecting for 2004/ 2005? ________________________

11. Payment enclosed? Yes ____No ___ Other _______________

12. Passport photos (2) enclosed? Yes _________ No _________

13. Interested in doing volunteer work for the Gar? Describe: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. Questions? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15.Prefer Mirror subscription by email: ___ by snail mail: __

Tsegyalgar West Website: http://bajasangha.org

Tsegyalgar West Email list: Send “subscribe” to ati@bajasangha.or g

continued from previous page

14

t r a v e l o g u eAn excerpt from Roman’ s diary keptduring his trip to Tibet in July, August, & September, 2004by Roman Piro

“This road is so dangerous!” I told my friend whom I justmet 5 hours before, at the last bus stop. We were arrivingslowly to the pass, the Cho La, the highest road of theregion, the Kham, at 5050 meters high; here there is no realroad, just a path without any security protections. Manypeople are smoking in the bus, many are sick, I’m just tootall to fit in ... I’m in a hurry to arrive, a bus ride in this partof the world doesn’ t mean the same as in the westernworld: here it is very long, tiring, stressful, but also veryexciting. I’ve never been so far from everything known...Then, 1000 meters down, we arrive to Der ge, the last bigcity before the imaginary border of new Tibet. The townlooks small, on the left side of the road and the river , withhuge mountains standingeverywhere, it is not open at all,and you don’ t even see muchsky. There are many Tibetans,drogpas (nomads), with horses,arriving from every direction,many taxis (we are on the onlyroad), many monks, but alsomany Chinese, more than inLithang, where I’ve just spentone week, for the annual horsefestival. Here I am, in the holytown where my master came tostudy his first Buddhist teach-ings, about 60 years ago, I feelimpressed and honored to comehere.

We’ve already spent 2 days inDerge. Sadly , this town isbecoming more and moreChinese every day: old Tibetanhouses are destroyed and bigunwelcoming buildings growin each street. Only the upper part of town is still tradition-al, many houses around the Parkhang, the actual biggestprinting monastery of Tibet, and the religious school wheremany young monks are still studying. There we met someof them who took us up the hill, following the river, to theirpool actually just somewhere where the small river is bigenough for a young child to jump and swim a little bit ...buteven during summer it is freezing!! All young monks gotnaked and proudly jump in the water . I’m taking pictures,they really enjoy it. There were many yaks and marmots. Itis a beautiful place, looks like the idea I had of ancientTibet: a quiet place where people are working the ground,guiding yaks to grasslands, chanting mantras all the daylong. The Tibetans we see there, as everywhere, smile to

me as soon as they see me, “TASHI DELEGS!!!” they aresaying, shouting! They treat you as a friend coming to visitthem, not as a stranger. They make you feel very, very goodand happy. Tomorrow I’ll try to go to Geoug, Rinpoche’ sbirth village.

Geoug must be veryclose to Der ge, butnobody knew exact-ly where it is! Wefinally found awoman who told usthat we had to followthe road in the direc-tion of the border ,about 10 Km, thenturn right, and on theother side of theriver, there is Geoug!So we took a taxi and

explained with difficulty to the driver where we wanted togo, luckily an Italian girl I just met in Der ge could speakChinese perfectly and after 1/2 hour driving we got to thebridge and the driver said, “Here you are!” We went out ofthe cab, took our very heavy big bags and looked aroundus: there were no houses, nothing, just forest and steepmountain everywhere!!?? We ask the driver, “But where isthe village?” he said, “Somewhere in that direction (show-ing the top of one mountain), few hours walking.”“WHAT!!!!!!” I shout. Nobody told us we had to climb toget Geoug, we are not ready for it, it is now 10:00am, thesun starts to be very strong, we have all our heavy luggage,and you say that we have to get the top of these mountains,maybe 4 hours walk, without any clear indications, without

a map, nothing!! My new friends and I decided to try tofind it anyway and we start to walk, walk, walk, the pathwas pretty steep, the sun so hot, (at about 4200m high it isreally burning your skin and eyes), but we still have to walk

after 4 hours, still novillage, we had tochoose many timesbetween 2 paths somaybe sometimes wetook the wrong one,and there is no one toshow us the way .Sadly, we have to turnback, downhill, to thebridge. We are verytired and disappointednot to find the place.That is something hardin Tibet, because wedidn’t speak T ibetanand lack of time, Inever found Geoug.”

I s pent 2 m onths i nKham, visiting lots ofplaces: Ganzi, Tagong,Lithang, Y achen,

Manigango, Dzogchen. Many times I told people that Iknew Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, they all knew him, andwere very impressed and happy . Tibetans are such a kind,welcoming and beautiful people. The land is amazing, sohigh, in the middle of the sky, clouds are flying few metersabove your head, light is special, atmosphere so pure, it isa real desert of mountains, we can drive 100 km withoutseeing any houses, only few nomad camps with yaks ongrasslands, near lakes, glaciers, hot springs. When youleave the main road, you enter into typical Tibetan villages:wood and earth made houses, no Chinese style buildinganymore, tsampa fields, people are living in a very simpleway without electricity , no running water , like hundredsyears ago, full family under the same roof, women work-ing hard at the field, even more than men, elders walkingaround stupas or gonpas all the day long, chanting mantrasand turning prayer wheels. Everybody and everything isvery religious, it is good to see it!Kham, because it is not part of the “new Tibet”, is certain-ly the last place where you really can see how Tibet wasbefore it lost is freedom; strangely they are more free therethan in the “autonomous region”, people have Dalai Lamaphotos around the neck and have special practice rooms athome with lots of pictures of His Holiness. 150 km further,beyond the new border , you can go to jail for 3 years forthis.Tibet is a world of paradox, maybe it is normal for a coun-try place just in between earth and sky; it is a great feeling,one should go there at least once to feel it, then I thinkmany things are easier to understand...

New Gakyil Dzogchen Community ofSingapore1) BlueEdmund TaiHP: (65) 96373010Email: edmundkwtai@yahoo.com.sg

Michael FooHP: (65) 96155886Email: michaelsj11@hotmail.com

Sam Chan Teng JiangHP: (65) 81136131Email: chantengjiang581@msn.com

2) RedWong Hee KunHP: (65) 93672288Email: frogwong@singnet.com.sg

Sandra LeeHP (65) 97928853Email: san138a@yahoo.com

3) YellowFan ChinHP: (65) 96711138Email: fanchin@singtel.com

Lee Chee TeongHP (65) 91397862Email: teong@starhub.com.sg

Namgyalgar DzogchenCommunity in AustraliaPO Box 14 Central Tilba,

NSW 2546 Tel/Fax: 61 02 4473 7668

Email: namgyalg@acr.net.auWeb site: www.dzogchen.org.au

n a m g y a l g a r & p a c i f i c r i m New MelbourneGakyil

RED:Kelly TraceyMelbourne Contact person, Schedule andNewsletter Email: kellytracey@aapt.net.au

(Barbara Di Castro - Red support)

YELLOWLouise Davies – Treasurer Email: little_louise12@hotmail.com

(Michael Pulsford – Yellow support)

BLUEMichael Di Tullio – Teachings Email: grandpaboy@urban.net.au

(Catherine Horner – Blue Support)

I N T E R N A T I O N A LC O M M U N I T Y N E W S

T H E M I R R O R N O V / D E C 2 0 0 4 15

orm & Emptiness: The Dalai Lama teaches the Heart Sutra • Meredith Monk on

dharma and creativity • Attending to the Deathless, by Ajahn Amaro • Forum: Bhikkhu

Bodhi, Jeffrey Hopkins and Jan Chozen Bays debate the law of karma • Community Profile: Foundation for the

Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition • Five teishos by Maezumi Roshi on breathing, energy

and the practice of qi gong • Dharma Dictionary: Thanissaro Bhikkhu defines satipatthanna

• Thich Nhat Hanh explains why sangha is a deep spiritual practice • Norman

Fischer on the controversy over “Nanchuan Cuts the Cat” • Roger Jackson reviews The Third

Karmapa’s Mahamudra Prayer • Readers’ Exchange: Being a Buddhist parent • Forum:

Robert Thurman, Joseph Goldstein and Judith Lief on the need for more full-time practitioners •

Mahamudra teachings by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso • Ajahn Chah on awakening “the One

Who Knows” • Diversity Practice at Spirit Rock • Pure Attention: A conversation with

S.N. Goenka • Eido Roshi on the “True Man Without Rank” • Ask the Teachers: What

do I do when my practice isn’t working? • Dharma Dictionary: Charles Muller defines yogacara •

Unpublished teachings by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche • The centenary of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi • Sharon Salzberg

on the meaning of faith in Buddhism • Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche on the three kayas

• The inspiring story of Dipa Ma • Gehlek Rinpoche on the practice

of taking and sending • B. Alan Wallace on purity of the dharma •

Forum: Understanding Master Dogen • Vipassana teachings by U Pandita • From

Servants to Practitioners: Jan Willis on why things are getting better for the nuns of Ladakh

These are some of the great teachings and articles that have appeared in

Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly. It’s the new practice-oriented journal

for Buddhists of all traditions. Four outstanding issues for only $19.95.

Brought to you by the publishers of the Shambhala Sun.

Call toll-free 1-877-786-1950

Or go to www.thebuddhadharma.com

Price in Canada: $29.95 CDN. Foreign: $29.95 USD. 4 quarterly issues. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, PO Box 3377, Champlain, NY 12919 USA Fax 902-423-2701

BuddhadharmaT H E P R A C T I T I O N E R ’ S Q U A R T E R L Y

Subscribe to

F

Job OpportunityDear Members of the Dzogchen Community,

My name is Daniel Maldonado Fonken (Vajra Traveler), I met Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpochein 1996, and I am member of the Swiss Dzogchen Community .

I would like to announce to the Dzogchen Community that new job positions will be available dur -ing 2005, 2006 and 2007. If you are interested in the following profile, please contact us.

ProfileWhether traveling or living abroad or working from a home base or on line, members of interdisci -plinary teams will collaborate on projects in the areas of development cooperation, education, trav -el, and investment with the purpose of innovation in solutions for global development and travel.

We need the participation of new team members in Europe, America, South America, Asia andAustralia. We have openings in many professional fields for the development of projects in the fol -lowing areas: education, arts, health, development cooperation, quality , management, self-manage-ment, travel and tourism, languages, environment, finances, farming, cultural anthropology , social

communication, social cooperation, marketing, IT, commerce and web publishing. Students, volun -teers and travelers are also welcome to collaborate.

Visit our web site: www.vajrahaus.ch

Our organization is dedicated to providing solutions for global development by of fering quality ser-vices with projects in the fields of travel, development cooperation, education and investment.

May all this activities be a cause of liberation for all beings!

Warm greetings!

Vajra Traveler (Daniel Maldonado Fonken)Vajra Haus Owner

My web pages for communication to the Dzogchen Community:

16

HOW I MET CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBUby Artur Skura

Iwas brought up in a Christianfamily. I spent most of mychildhood with my great -

grandmother who was a verypious person. She started the daywith her rosary , completing aseries of prayers for many peopleshe knew , living and dead. Shesaid she had taken this commit-ment to pray for certain peopleevery day until she dies. Sheasked me to read the Bible andtold me many religious stories,about saints, helping the dead andso on.

I was very inspired by all thisand I sincerely hoped I couldbecome a priest or a monk, orchoose some other way of life Icould consider meaningful. Itried, above all, to apply in prac-tice the teaching of Christ onmost dif ficult points, like show -ing the other cheek. This wasn’talways very helpful - when youare 6 and don’ t strike back whenhit, your colleagues think there issomething wrong with you,maybe you are afraid or weak.But I was proud I could succeedin controlling my anger manytimes.

Then, when I was 13, I dis-covered the book “The Cloud ofIgnorance”. It’ s a medieval textdescribing the practice of con-templation in the Christian tradi-tion. I remember I didn’ t under -stand it at all. I could read every-thing many times, and I couldunderstand words and sentences,but not the meaning. The text wasa bit vague; it didn’ t spell outthings clearly . There were frag -ments like “When you’re lookingfor God, open yourself totally ,but always keep something back,because when you’re completelyopen, you become vulnerable toprovocations of the evil one”. ButI couldn’ t find any method, anyguide for starting the practice ofcontemplation.

A year later , I was travelingon the train with the father of myfriend. He was a photographer ,and a very nice person. I wascoming back home from a week-end retreat with Christian monks,so we naturally started talkingabout religion. He was the first totell me things about Buddhismand presented it to me in accessi-

ble way. Later I learned that whenhe was studying he met KaluRinpoche and some other Kagyulamas, received some teachingsand used to do practice. I wasvery, very impressed by all Iheard. I thought that Mahayana,Buddhism and Christianity haveso much in com-mon that there isno conflict at all,and I must dosomething aboutit.

At that timePoland was stillCommunist andwe didn’ t havehardly any bookson Buddhism. Iwent to a locallibrary and bor-rowed the onlybook I could find- it was some aca-demic disserta-tion aboutTheravada sects. Even if it wasboring, it was the only thing Icould get, so I tried to read it all.But at the some time I felt a bit ofa conflict, because the CatholicChurch has very strong opinionsregarding other religions, and Iwas really convinced that if Ibecame Buddhist, after death Iwould have to go to hell. So I wasboth interested and afraid. WhenI was reading the book I caught acold, and I thought, “Oh, thismust be God telling me which isthe real religion, I must give upreading this book on Buddhism”and I gave the book back to thelibrary.

But my interest was strong. Iasked the photographer I men-tioned and he lent me somebooks, like “The Way of theWhite Clouds” and others aboutthe mantra of Avalokiteshvara,etc. Later , I managed to contactJacek Sieradzan, who was trans-lating and publishing manybooks and compilations aboutBuddhism - not academic work,but normal Dharma teachings.When I first visited him, I toldhim I had read “The Way of theWhite Clouds” and books onmantras and I was very interestedin Tantrism, I would like toreceive initiations and start prac-ticing. But Jacek seemed interest-ed in something else. “Y ou see”,

he said, “There always manyKagyu lamas coming to Poland,don’t worry, you can always meetone and receive your initiations.But there is a Rinpoche in Italywho is teaching the highest teach-ing of Dzogchen, you should getto know that” and he gave me

some books with Rinpoche’ steachings. I read it all and I wasafraid it was too dif ficult for me.This famous state of Dzogchen -what is it? Tantric teachingsseemed so simple - you take initi-ations, and start doing visualiza-tion and mantra recitation asmuch as possible. But Dzogchenseemed something subtle, dif fi-cult to know. But I immediatelyfelt it was a serious path whichcould give me something I waslooking for until then. So Ithought to myself - I will try tofollow this Dzogchen teaching,and if I really don’ t succeed, Iwill do my best followingTantrism. I remember in one ofthe books published by Jacek, Ifound the sentence “If you haveany questions or doubts, you canwrite to me”. So I found theaddress of Merigar and sent a let-ter to Rinpoche. It was 1991 andI was 16. I couldn’ t go toMerigar, because I had an oldpassport, valid in ex-Communistcountries only, and I couldn’ t geta new one, as I needed the signa-tures of both parents, and theyalready started to think I am up tosomething and refused to help mewith it.

In the meantime Olek Skwarawent to Merigar and when hecame b ack, h e t old u s m anythings, he also brought the Thun

book, showed us how to do themudras and so on. Until then we- a group of people aspiring to beDzogchen practitioners one day -were doing only the Guruyoga ofPadmasambhava, based on thedescription found in theCollective Practices book. Andthen we learned that Olek invitedRinpoche to P oland a nd t hatRinpoche finally agreed.

You can’ t imagine my joywhen I heard this. Also I got theanswer to my letter fromRinpoche - he said he would becoming to Poland in May 1992and hoped to see me there. I feltnow my life will really start. Myparents were appalled at the ideaof me receiving some non-Christian teachings. They saidthey would never agree to let mego and listen to Buddhist or anyother teachings. But I made itvery clear that I will go anyway .I was almost 17, and according tothe law I was under their careuntil 18. But I knew thatRinpoche t ransmits s omethingextremely important, and meet-ing him is the only thing that mat-ters in my life.

So I kept the precise date ofthe teaching secret and went aweek earlier. I spent this time in aZen center, preparing for receiv -ing the transmission, trying to doVajra Recitation, some shine, etc.I remember how totally distractedI was, how char ged my ener gywas. For example when I wantedto concentrate on a blue ball inmy heart, this blue ball was jump-ing around my whole chest. Myattention span was also veryshort. When we got to the airportand welcomed Rinpoche, I felt asif a fairy tale became true. I lis-tened to the teachings attentively,always trying to figure out whatDzogchen is. But I couldn’ t. Atthe end of the retreat Rinpochesaid, “I hope very much youunderstood something. If youhaven’t understood, you have todevelop your clarity withGuruyoga, and also do purifica-tion practices, and then one dayyou will understand”.

I went home and started prac-ticing. I very quickly realized itwouldn’t be very easy. Ideas like“not being distracted” or “beingpresent in all that appears” seemvery easy when I thought about

them, but when I tried to practice,maintaining them for any longerperiod seemed extremely dif fi-cult. Also I wasn’t sure about thefundamental point. And one day Iread in transcript of Santi MahaSangha Base retreat once held inMerigar, that Rinpoche was100% sure at the 2nd or 3rd levelthe practitioner will have thisknowledge in a very, very preciseway. I immediately thought Imust do this training. Not tobecome a teacher - I thought inmy case it would be ridiculous -but to really have the base of con-templation, without any doubtsand with the capacity to continuein it.

I remember coming toRinpoche during his second visitin Poland in 1994 (I was 18already and I finally got my pass-port) and asking if I could passthe SMS Base exam. I wasn’ tvery sure - I was only followingthe Teachings for 2 years, and Iknew many old practitionersfailed the exam. He said alldepends on how I prepare. I saidI am learning the questions andanswers. He laughed a little andsaid that learning questions andanswers is fine, but I should real-ly know the sense. On the nextday, after the teachings, while Iwas standing nearby he asked meto come to him. He asked, “Y ousaid you want to come for SantiMaha Sangha Training?” I said,“Yes, I want”. He said, “Thencome to Merigar”. I was extreme-ly happy.

Then, with time, I slowly ,slowly started to learn the realmeaning of Rinpoche’s teaching.The Semde series of Dzogchenespecially seemed the most effec-tive with a rather dumb individ-ual such as me. I also started tounderstand how specialRinpoche’s teachings are. I reallyconsider him to be a Tonpa - amanifestation that introduces theTeachings in a given dimension,such as Buddha Shakyamuni orGarab Dorje. If it weren’ t for hiswork, the Dzogchen Teachingwould still be something very lit-tle known on the West, somethingtransmitted only as a part of ritu-al, without knowledge beingalive. We are the most fortunateto have a direct connection withhim.

ERRATAIn issue 70 of The Mirror, pleasenote that the poem in the eulogyfor Sheldon Rocklin was writtenby Ira Cohen in June 2002.Apologies for the omission.

mirror on linewww.melong.

com

son there are circles, dif ferent circles. I am preparing a kind of intro -duction for people so they can learn, but it is not such and easy job. Ittakes a long time.My hope for the future is that we know the corresponding places onEarth because we have many important places related with theMandala. For example, when you begin the dance you are on the redline - and that line geographically corresponds to America, Tsegyalgarand Italy, Merigar. That is why I received this Teaching when I was inTsegyalgar, in Khandroling, and continued when I was in Italy . So theDance started from this place and that means that these places are sacredplaces. A sacred place means a place with a central channel of ener gy.There are still many places we don’ t know about and can discover .When we discover them they become important places for practitioners.Sometimes, if you do specific practices like the Dance of the Vajra, thepractice of contemplation, or the different kinds of methods of contem-plation, and apply them in these places, there is more ef fect. This ismore important for practitioners since we are trying to have more effectquickly in order to have realization. There will also be the possibilitythat we will know these interesting places and do practices there in thecorrect way. We can organize and develop. Our lives are short, but wecan do our best and leave this knowledge, this teaching, for the nextgeneration to somehow continue. Many people can have realization andbenefit. You learn and remember these things and when you dance youcan feel more benefit.

Transcribed by Adriana dal BorgoEdited by Naomi Zeitz

Vajra Dance by ChNN continued from page 4

L DENYER