Sally Gross wrote:Ogyen wrote:The Self-Perfected State sounds like what I've been seeking my whole life in terms of dharma methods... feels like a profound door of change just creaked opened since discovering this (two weeks ago), I'm slowly coming around to probing it (cautious by nurture) just reading a lot about ChNNR right now.
This teacher blasts open the doors to something profound and universal for everyone. If you are willing to put in the effort to be the Buddha, it seems.
Ogyen, you speak my mind. I'm also relatively new to this teaching -- a matter of some months in my case -- and like you my sense has been of happening upon what I have been seeking for the whole of my life. Welcome, and enjoy the journey!
I've been a Dzogchen lurker for a bit, it IS in Dudjom's lineage I practice out of... but never felt I was advanced enough as a student to be able to access the teachings, because it's 'for the big kids.' I've heard several times, 'when you've done Ngondro,' or Dzogchen is 'the highest level.' I thought, fair enough, I'm a beginner at best, have refuge vows and make my daily life the practice of kindness... but overall, the message I got from Dzogchen was "NOT for ME.... yet." So I steered clear out of the big kids' club. In the dharma practice, I'm just a kid. I look at our teachers and go, yeah... right. I have a LONG way to go.
I have no intention of not doing Ngondro, hopefully in November when my teacher visits I can get the empowerment to start it... the sangha down here is great, they told me that even though I'll have just delivered my second baby by a couple weeks, I can show up with my newborn and toddler to meet our visiting teacher. It was so reassuring to know it's never too early to be exposed to dharma or a good teacher... These kids are raised with the dharma at home.
But meeting paths with ChNNR even if 'indirectly' and seeing this possibility for limitless inner reach... at least learning some of the material practice is ... illuminating, to say the least. Like my mental sky just got bigger somehow... Thanks for creating this thread, btw. I think this will be of much benefit to many of us. Much appreciated.
Is there a beginner's thread? I read through a lot of interesting threads, looks like we have resources, and scattered topics... I was looking around, saw something mentioned about a sticky... did I miss it?