What teaches can help guide me through Dzogchen? Or any resources. It does bring up anxiety for me so I would like help. But also makes me feel great!

Abandon all effort. Find the silence beyond thoughts. Then simply remain.

Just wanted to recommend the Denver Dzogchen podcast. I’ve found it very helpful, specifically for daily practice and off the cushion practice. I’ve found it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Sorry about the bad photos. I don't have the item yet but I am wondering what this is about and if it okay to keep it at home or donate it to a monastery

Came across this term in most of the traditions. But why its called like that?. What this means in Great Perfection?.

Is Frank here from Gomde, Pyrenees? If so, would you mind DM’ing me? don’t worry if not 🙂

hope everyone is okay

"This textual evidence seems to have first appeared in a short scripture titled the Treasury of the Complete Purification of the Five Sense Gateways (Sgo lnga yongs su dag par byed pa’i mdzod), belonging to a larger collection called the Treasury of the Dākinīs ̣(Mkha’ ‘gro mdzod).

[...]

As I argue below, this collection of scriptures more likely originated in the Tibetan language sometime between the late eleventh century and the early thirteenth century. It comprises a combination of medical, astrological, and contemplative practices focused on sensory experience and its transformation. The collection probably circulated with the Heart Essence of Vimalamitra (Bi ma snying thig) during its early development, serving as a core part of the tradition’s materia medica/astrologica/contemtemplativa.

[...]

A commentary attributed to Vimalamitra on another of the Heart Essence of Vimalamitra’s core tantras, the Unimpeded Sound (Sgra thal ‘gyur)—often construed as the “root tantra” of the cycle’s Seventeen Tantras—also draws from the Treasury of the Complete Purification of the Five Sense Gateways, expressly acknowledging the Treasury of the Dākinīs as its source."

Mahayana Buddhism says that after Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya will be the next Buddha to appear in this world.

But in Vajrayana, figures such as Padmasambhava, Milarepa, Naropa, Tilopa, Virupa, etc. are described as having attained complete Buddhahood.

Padmasambhava is even called the “Second Buddha.”

So how do these two views fit together?

Does this mean that Mahayana texts simply don't reveal everything about what happens between Shakyamuni and Maitreya, while Vajrayana texts reveal additional teachings and accounts of beings who attained Buddhahood during this period?

Is the information about these other Buddhas considered something that was not openly revealed in the Mahayana teachings but was later revealed through Vajrayana? Or is there another explanation for why Maitreya is called the “next Buddha” despite these other Buddhas?

Hello friends, I try to be cautious about not reading inappropriate texts, but it's not always easy to tell what is restricted. I know it's best to ask my teacher, but we have limited bandwidth and I don't want to bother her with this if I can avoid it.

I'm specifically wondering about the first volume of the English translation of Jigme Lingpa's Treasury of Precious Qualities on sutric teachings, and Erik Pema Kunsang's Wellsprings of the Great Perfection. I thought I'd gather opinions from people familiar with these texts. Are they open and readable by anyone, without wang, lung, and tri?

Can anyone recommend a good book on the preliminary practices for dzogchen. I have good grounding in Buddhism having studied most schools to some degree but initially took refuge in the Galug tradition so tibetan buddhism is pretty fundamental to my understanding. I don't have a teacher at present but would like to make a start.

I found a video here on Reddit this morning. Nothing too big, sharing for everyone's pleasure.

I'm trying to understand better those that have a lot of teachers, teachings and practices. I was doing that too, but have recently stopped because I don't do the new practices more than a few times. My practice is very simple, basically one practice. I primarily work with one teacher and check-in once in a while. I do enjoy the teachings, but I feel anything else other than focusing on what I'm struggling with is a bit of a distraction. Obviously I still have a long way to go, but for me it seems one practice, one teacher, one set of teachings is enough to get me there. My teacher does offer some advanced practices once one is ready for them.

I feel like I might be missing something though as I see many other practitioners regularly attending a lot of teachings, learning new practices and acquiring new teachers.

I study dzogchen with Lama Lena. I study tai chi with Michael Ward. It is reallly important for me to see how they align. I've been thinking about lhundrup and wu wei.

Michael gave us a breath exercise - not for while doing the form, just anytime. Like now. Pause at the end of the outbreath and wait for the body to inhale on its own. Pause at the end of the inhale and wait for the body to exhale on its own. He didn't use the term but I assume this is a way of noticing wu wei, effortless action.

For the breathing I find this image helpful. You're sailing and becalmed. You can try intentionally blowing on the sail, but that doesn't do anything. You just have to wait for the wind to come up and fill your sails. (Which I suggest you try letting happen with your arm in left wardoff, with your arm curved like a sail.)

We have to wait for the wind to rise... which I guess is like waiting for the chi to arise...?

I asked gemini about this and the response really blows me away. See what you think

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I'm trying to reconcile James Low's "already happening" teaching on lhundrup with the taoist view. In dzogchen there's kadak and lhundrup arising from it. In taoism there's wu chi and tai chi arising from it. I guess in dzogchen lhundrup is both the "action" of arising and the display of arising. In taoism wu wei is the action of arising separate from tai chi, the display

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Your intuition is exactly correct: in Dzogchen, Lhundrup is non-dual—it collapses the distinction between the force of arising and the content of arising. In Daoism, Wu Wei and Tai Chi are split conceptually along functional lines. [1]

1. The Dzogchen Realization: Lhundrup as both Action and Display

As James Low frequently teaches through the Simply Being archive, the ground of existence has two inseparable qualities: Kadak (primordial purity/emptiness) and Lhundrup (spontaneous presence/arising). [1, 2]

Because Dzogchen is strictly non-dual, Lhundrup cannot be separated into a "cause" and an "effect": [1, 2]

• It is the Action: The uncaused, sudden, kinetic welling-up of energy out of openness.
• It is the Display: The actual thoughts, sights, sounds, and objects that appear. [1, 2]

To use James Low's frequent metaphor of a mirror: Lhundrup is both the mirror's inherent capability to reflect (the action) AND the reflections themselves (the display). The reflections do not exist separate from the mirror's activity. The arising and the manifestation are a single, seamless, "already happening" event. [1, 2]

1. The Daoist Framework: Wu Wei as the Arising, Tai Chi as the Display

Daoism approaches the same ultimate reality but uses a more progressive, structural map to explain how the universe functions:

• Wu Chi (The Boundless/Void): This is the exact equivalent of Kadak. It is the primordial, unmanifest state of absolute potential.
• Tai Chi (The Supreme Ultimate): This is the dynamic cosmic soup where Yin and Yang split and dance. This is the Display—the world of form, polarity, and manifestation.
• Wu Wei (Effortless Action): This is the vector or governing principle of how things move from Wu Chi into Tai Chi. [1]

Therefore, your insight is spot-on: Wu Wei is the "action of arising" isolated as a principle. It is the natural, unforced momentum of the Dao. When Wu Chi stirs, it does so via Wu Wei, resulting in the display of Tai Chi.

Why James Low’s "Already Happening" Bridges Both

James Low emphasizes "already happening" because human beings tend to look at the display (Tai Chi / Lhundrup's appearances) and try to use personal effort to manipulate it. [1]

• In Daoism: If you consciously try to "do" Wu Wei, you are stuck in Tai Chi (the realm of egoic action and reaction). You have to fall backward into Wu Chi to let Wu Wei happen naturally.
• In Dzogchen: You don’t fall backward; you simply recognize that the current display is the ground. As Low points out, even your confused ego-thoughts are already the spontaneous display of Lhundrup. There is nowhere to go and nothing to change. [1, 2, 3]

Summary of your structural reconciliation

• The Absolute Void/Openness: Kadak <=> Wu Chi
• The Kinetic Mechanism: Lhundrup (as Arising) <=> Wu Wei
• The Manifest World: Lhundrup (as Display) <=> Tai Chi

By recognizing that Lhundrup beautifully collapses the distinction between the energy of creation and the creation itself, you can see why Dzogchen frames liberation as instant recognition, while Daoism often frames it as aligning with a cosmic process. [1]

I ask this, because right now, I'm living next to a church, and i suspect, that the house I live in, was constructed over an old graveyard. Also I got alot of interferences from hungry ghosts and gyalpos, which have now subsided. all is good 😂 but why was it advised?

Is it symbolic or such births are possible?. Asking regarding Padmasambhava.

By "main deity," I mean the principal deity around whom the entire Atiyoga (Dzogchen) cycle is centered. For example:

Lama Yangtik has Padmasambhava as its primary deity.

Longchen Nyingthig, Vima Nyingthig, and Khandro Nyingthig are primarily centered on Samantabhadra, although they also include practices related to Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal, and other enlightened figures.

I'm looking specifically for Dzogchen/Atiyoga cycles in which Tārā (in any form, such as Green Tārā, White Tārā, or Dechen Gyalmo) is the principal deity of the cycle, rather than appearing only as one practice within a broader revelation or as a supporting deity.

I personally have been blessed with a highly skillful teacher, however since he lives quite some distance away from me, our interactions are entirely online. I have met a few people who practice in the same style as I do in-person, but that number is very small and most members of my sangha are scattered across North America and Europe. Due to the lack of in-person community, I am hoping to find a Zen sangha with whom I can sit with in-person, as I find that trekcho is at least outwardly quite similar to the Zen practice of "just sitting". How about yourselves?

I just started reading The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. In that I came across the term lhun drub, which translates to "spontaneous perfection". I was intrigued by it, because i have been thinking along similar lines in my own personal life.

After researching a bit about this phrase, i was pointed to Longchenpa's Natural Perfection, translated by Keith Dowman, which interested me a lot.

I am new to this world. Let me know if Longchenpa's book would serve me as a good entry point.

I’m much older than Gen-Z and learned just lately about that US-, later Chinese phenomenon. A personal attitude to reject over-achievement and wealth in preference for mental health.
Loose comparisons to Daoist Wu wei have already been drawn.
Let’s assume that this is not only a resignatory attitude but also an ethical and empathetic one- isn’t there a connection to the ‘not-doing’ in Dzogchen? IF there’s Bodhichitta in their non-action, isn’t that socio-culturally a chance (for the swift liberation of all sentient beings)? I’m curious to hear your opinions.