Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu

[dharmafootsteps]

Does anyone have an email address for Steve Landsberg or Elio Guarisco that they could PM me? There's one for Elio in the pdf list of SMS Instructors floating around, it seems to be an old disused one though as my email bounced back from it.

[Joseph]

I'm thinking instead of continuing to purchase physical copies , I could slowly migrate to ebooks .

What are people using to read the PDF ebooks sold through ShangShung store ? Iv'e never owned a kindle , although I have heard they may not be the best to read PDF's through ?

Anyone have any experience before I potentially purchase a kindle ?

[Aryjna]

Do these books require specific transmissions (apart from Guruyoga)?

http://shop.shangshungfoundation.com/en ... 05614.html
This book explains how to get to the union of shamatha and vipashyana through shine.

http://shop.shangshungfoundation.com/en ... &results=9

/magnus

There is also this excellent book outlining a method for gradually cultivating Shine, Gyuwa, Stable Shine, 'Released' Shine, Contemplation, and Trekcho.

http://shop.shangshungfoundation.com/en ... 05614.html

They don't require any other transmission.

[Ignorant_Fool]

They don't require any other transmission.

Much obliged.

[Lukeinaz]

I'm thinking instead of continuing to purchase physical copies , I could slowly migrate to ebooks .

What are people using to read the PDF ebooks sold through ShangShung store ? Iv'e never owned a kindle , although I have heard they may not be the best to read PDF's through ?

Anyone have any experience before I potentially purchase a kindle ?

I really like the e-book feature and do a lot of reading this way. I installed a pdf reader on my kindle fire and it works great. I had to do a bit of looking around for a program that would open an encrypted document.

[PSM]

There is also this excellent book outlining a method for gradually cultivating Shine, Gyuwa, Stable Shine, 'Released' Shine, Contemplation, and Trekcho.

http://shop.shangshungfoundation.com/en ... 05614.html

With regards to the book An Introduction to the Practice of Contemplation, there's a phrase in there which confuses me. It's the one in relation to released shine, something close to 'you are the leaper'. I simply can't parse the instructions.

[Johnny Dangerous]

I'm thinking instead of continuing to purchase physical copies , I could slowly migrate to ebooks .

What are people using to read the PDF ebooks sold through ShangShung store ? Iv'e never owned a kindle , although I have heard they may not be the best to read PDF's through ?

Anyone have any experience before I potentially purchase a kindle ?

I use a tablet - or a phone in a pinch. A knidle fire views them fine if I recall, not sure about the oldschool kindle.

[meepits]

I'm thinking instead of continuing to purchase physical copies , I could slowly migrate to ebooks .

What are people using to read the PDF ebooks sold through ShangShung store ? Iv'e never owned a kindle , although I have heard they may not be the best to read PDF's through ?

Anyone have any experience before I potentially purchase a kindle ?

I use a tablet - or a phone in a pinch. A knidle fire views them fine if I recall, not sure about the oldschool kindle.

I just read them from the generic iBooks app that comes with iPhones. To me it’s totally fine. If I’m away from home and have a question, it’s nice to be able to just pick up my phone and search the books

[mechashivaz]

The 6 yogas are taught in the last 6 months of the 3 year retreat. 1 month per yoga.

How did you find out what happens inside a 3 year retreat?

Its not really a secret.
All lineages have a retreat curriculum.

Does the DC have anything like this? Or has Rinpoche "sanctioned" or gave his blessings to anyone in DC to do lengthy retreats?

[Josef]

How did you find out what happens inside a 3 year retreat?

Its not really a secret.
All lineages have a retreat curriculum.

Does the DC have anything like this? Or has Rinpoche "sanctioned" or gave his blessings to anyone in DC to do lengthy retreats?

Its in The Precious Vase

[mechashivaz]

Its not really a secret.
All lineages have a retreat curriculum.

Does the DC have anything like this? Or has Rinpoche "sanctioned" or gave his blessings to anyone in DC to do lengthy retreats?

Its in The Precious Vase

Thanks for that clarification. My understanding is the practices of TPV (most of them) don't require one to be on retreat. It seems more aimed at making one's whole life the retreat (with obvious caveats) which is a supreme method indeed. Just curious if there was a 333 retreat or something similar.

[florin]

I'm thinking instead of continuing to purchase physical copies , I could slowly migrate to ebooks .

What are people using to read the PDF ebooks sold through ShangShung store ? Iv'e never owned a kindle , although I have heard they may not be the best to read PDF's through ?

Anyone have any experience before I potentially purchase a kindle ?

On my kindle paperwhite, second edition i think, the text on the the pdf's from SSI, is a bit small and there isn't an option to increase the text size unfortunately.

[Josef]

Does the DC have anything like this? Or has Rinpoche "sanctioned" or gave his blessings to anyone in DC to do lengthy retreats?

Its in The Precious Vase

Thanks for that clarification. My understanding is the practices of TPV (most of them) don't require one to be on retreat. It seems more aimed at making one's whole life the retreat (with obvious caveats) which is a supreme method indeed. Just curious if there was a 333 retreat or something similar.

TPV is the DC equivalent to retreat style accumulation.
Individual circumstances can be adapted to fit that structure.

[Vasana]

Its in The Precious Vase

Thanks for that clarification. My understanding is the practices of TPV (most of them) don't require one to be on retreat. It seems more aimed at making one's whole life the retreat (with obvious caveats) which is a supreme method indeed. Just curious if there was a 333 retreat or something similar.

TPV is the DC equivalent to retreat style accumulation.
Individual circumstances can be adapted to fit that structure.

Working with our circumstances comes first but retreat is still ideal for certain practices to get maximum benefit and progression. At the very least, dedicating a day or a weekend or a week to practice can yield more significant and swifter effects than sessions spread out and diluted. Diluted can sometimes work out in the long run but in the beggining it's good to allocate some proper time for practice.

[Penor]

I was just at Dzamling gar. For any one who doesnt know already, Rinpoche got out of hospital a few days ago. I saw him when he returned, he looked weak. He is resting at home. I read that to improve Rinpoches health he has requested for his students do guru yoga, remain present and work with circumstance.

[TaTa]

Is there a practice recomended to reduce strong attachment? (besides guru yoga)

[Ignorant_Fool]

I was just at Dzamling gar. For any one who doesnt know already, Rinpoche got out of hospital a few days ago. I saw him when he returned, he looked weak. He is resting at home. I read that to improve Rinpoches health he has requested for his students do guru yoga, remain present and work with circumstance.

Thank you for the update.

[PSM]

Is there a practice recomended to reduce strong attachment? (besides guru yoga)

The four thoughts (precious human life, impermanence, suffering, karma) would be a good bet, especially the second one.

[Josef]

Thanks for that clarification. My understanding is the practices of TPV (most of them) don't require one to be on retreat. It seems more aimed at making one's whole life the retreat (with obvious caveats) which is a supreme method indeed. Just curious if there was a 333 retreat or something similar.

TPV is the DC equivalent to retreat style accumulation.
Individual circumstances can be adapted to fit that structure.

Working with our circumstances comes first but retreat is still ideal for certain practices to get maximum benefit and progression. At the very least, dedicating a day or a weekend or a week to practice can yield more significant and swifter effects than sessions spread out and diluted. Diluted can sometimes work out in the long run but in the beggining it's good to allocate some proper time for practice.

I never made any comments to the contrary. Nor does Rinpoche in The Precious Vase.

[Vasana]

Is there a practice recomended to reduce strong attachment? (besides guru yoga)

The four thoughts (precious human life, impermanence, suffering, karma) would be a good bet, especially the second one.

Yep. Generally, lojong helps here. Studying and reflecting more deeply and intensively on the 4 thoughts will help you reassess your priorities and loosen the grip on attachments.

Also read/listen to teachings on 'Parting from the four Attachments'.
There is a Shang Shung book on this and you can find teachings on YouTube. I particularly like the teaching from Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro on this topic.

'“If you are attached to this life, you are not a true spiritual practitioner;
If you are attached to saṃsāra, you have no renunciation;
If you are attached to your own self-interest, you have no bodhicitta;
If there is grasping, you do not have the View.”

http://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-mas ... ttachments

It can also help to contemplate the fact that illness and death are unavoidable. How ready are we, really? Imagining your own death can help put things in to perspective. Then there's the painful bardo of dying to look forward to and so on.

It can also help to apply stricter discipline from time to time and set a limit to the consumption and exposure of whatever it is that sparks attachment. Ideally we wouldn't need to do this if our contemplation and capacity was stable but for many of us, this is not always the case.