Dharma Wheel

Enochian wrote:Ok let me put it in another way.

If you 100% NEED a transmission to understand your natural state, it would NOT be natural would it?

Well, you need something reflective, like a mirror, to see your natural face. Can't see your face just by possessing it, can you?

Very well put.

You meet the mistaken idea that "the ultimate is unconditioned therefore anyone who teaches a path to realize it has fallen into a false view" more often in Neo-Advaita. But some would-be Dzogchenpas seem prone to it as well. I won't argue the point. But I will recommend Vivid Awareness, a recent book by Thrangu Rinpoche made from talks he gave explaining a short text by Khenpo Gangshar. I haven't finished it yet, but so far, so good. It hits the main points that a beginner in Dzogchen/Mahamudra needs to know.

Jinzang wrote:You meet the mistaken idea that "the ultimate is unconditioned therefore anyone who teaches a path to realize it has fallen into a false view" more often in Neo-Advaita. But some would-be Dzogchenpas seem prone to it as well. I won't argue the point. But I will recommend Vivid Awareness, a recent book by Thrangu Rinpoche made from talks he gave explaining a short text by Khenpo Gangshar. I haven't finished it yet, but so far, so good. It hits the main points that a beginner in Dzogchen/Mahamudra needs to know.

I read this book based on your recommendation here. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. One of a kind.

I just read up on Khenpo Gangshar's life. He was left for dead after an illness and taken to a cell. Then he suddenly sat up after three days and transformed from someone who was a conformist to someone quite daring and unconventional. Looking death square in the face allows transformations like this. I take great inspiration from this kind of experience. Contemplate death, I say.