Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

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Passing By
Posts: 298
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2018 6:49 pm

Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

Post by Passing By »

Saw that Shenten's Summer event for next year is based on this ZZNG text. Can anyone explain which section of the ZZNG this text is from? Is it the practice manual for the Six Lamps? Thank you
James Sealy
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:48 pm

Re: Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

Post by James Sealy »

Passing By wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 5:45 pm Saw that Shenten's Summer event for next year is based on this ZZNG text. Can anyone explain which section of the ZZNG this text is from? Is it the practice manual for the Six Lamps? Thank you
THE 6 ESSENTIAL POINTS OF THE BODHICHITTA:
BYANG-CHUB SEMS KYI GNAS DRUG

Here is contained the practice manual called "The 6 Essential Points of the Bodhichitta", according to the Oral Transmission from Zhang-zhung for the Great Perfection Teachings (rdzogs-pa chen-po zhang-zhung snyan-brgyud las byang-chub sems kyi gnad drug ces bya-ba'i lag-len bzhugs-so / ).


Homage to Kuntu Zangpo who is clearly revealed as one's own Self-Awareness!

Within this short chapter on the essential points of the Upadeshas (of Dzogchen) contained in the sNyan-rgyud sems kyi me-long, "The Mirror of the Mind from the Oral Transmission", and the mTha r-thug don gyi sgron-me, "The Lamp of the actual Meaning concerning what is Ultimately Attained", there are found 6 principal topics, namely,

1. the essential point of the recognizing of the Kunzhi abiding as the Essence, which concerns the Lamp of the Base that abides ;
2. the essential point of one's own Self-Awareness arising in the interior and abiding anywhere within the Base, which concerns the Lamp of the Fleshly Heart;
3. the essential point of the directly penetrating gnosis originating anywhere along the pathway, which concerns the Lamp of the Smooth White Nerve;
4. the essential point of the Rigpa, or intrinsic Awareness, seeing nakedly whatever arises at any gate of the senses, which concerns the Lamp of the Water globe-like eye that lassoes everything at a distance;
5. the essential point which clearly and definitively decides upon the Trikaya when one practices in whatever manner along the path, which concerns the Lamp of the Direct Introduction to the Pure Realms;
6. the essential point of the process of separating Samsara and Nirvana when encountering them anywhere along the Boundary between delusion and understanding, which concerns the Lamp of the Time of the Bardo.

These 6 essential points which concern the 6 Lamps.
Passing By
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Re: Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

Post by Passing By »

Thank you.

So it's essentially the practice manual for the Six Lamps?
James Sealy
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 8:48 pm

Re: Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

Post by James Sealy »

Passing By wrote: Thu May 12, 2022 1:47 am Thank you.

So it's essentially the practice manual for the Six Lamps?
The essential points of 6 Upadeshas for the Dzogchen teaching (man-ngag gnad kyi byang-bu) is extracted from two longer texts found elsewhere in the Zhang-zhung Nyan-gyud cycle, namely, the sNyan-rgyud sems kyi me-long, "The Mirror of the Mind from the Oral Transmission", and the mThar-thug don gyi sgron-me, "The Lamp of the actual meaning concerning what is Ultimately Attained."
These 6 principal topics (don drug) correspond to the 6 Lamps (sgron-ma drug), or sources of light, which elucidate the process of Thodgal (thod-rgal) or vision practice.

These 6 sources of light, which represent the 6 essential points (gnad drug) for the process of vision, are dealt with in much more detail in another text in this cycle, entitled sGron-ma drug, or "The 6 Lamps,"

The principal topic of the text is sems or Mind, that is to say, not the thought process (sems, blo), but the Nature of Mind (sems-nyid) which is like a mirror. A mirror may contain an infinite number of different reflections, whether beautiful or ugly, good or bad, light or dark, and so on. But all these different reflections in no way change or modify or diminish the nature of the mirror. In the same way, the Nature of the Mind, like the mirror, may encompass and reflect many different thoughts, and emotions, and visions, and so on, but these, no matter how many they may be, will in no way come to change or modify or diminish the Nature of Mind.

Mind or (absolute Bodhichitta), is just what it is from the very beginning and has never become other than itself. It is beyond all time and history and conditioning. Nevertheless, the visions which it projects and reflects are principally of two types: the pure visions of the sacred order of Nirvana, which are the pure Buddha realms, and the impure karmic visions of the profane order of Samsara, which represent the various destinies of rebirth.
Passing By
Posts: 298
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2018 6:49 pm

Re: Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

Post by Passing By »

James Sealy wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 9:18 am
Passing By wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 5:45 pm Saw that Shenten's Summer event for next year is based on this ZZNG text. Can anyone explain which section of the ZZNG this text is from? Is it the practice manual for the Six Lamps? Thank you
THE 6 ESSENTIAL POINTS OF THE BODHICHITTA:
BYANG-CHUB SEMS KYI GNAS DRUG

Here is contained the practice manual called "The 6 Essential Points of the Bodhichitta", according to the Oral Transmission from Zhang-zhung for the Great Perfection Teachings (rdzogs-pa chen-po zhang-zhung snyan-brgyud las byang-chub sems kyi gnad drug ces bya-ba'i lag-len bzhugs-so / ).


Homage to Kuntu Zangpo who is clearly revealed as one's own Self-Awareness!

Within this short chapter on the essential points of the Upadeshas (of Dzogchen) contained in the sNyan-rgyud sems kyi me-long, "The Mirror of the Mind from the Oral Transmission", and the mTha r-thug don gyi sgron-me, "The Lamp of the actual Meaning concerning what is Ultimately Attained", there are found 6 principal topics, namely,

1. the essential point of the recognizing of the Kunzhi abiding as the Essence, which concerns the Lamp of the Base that abides ;
2. the essential point of one's own Self-Awareness arising in the interior and abiding anywhere within the Base, which concerns the Lamp of the Fleshly Heart;
3. the essential point of the directly penetrating gnosis originating anywhere along the pathway, which concerns the Lamp of the Smooth White Nerve;
4. the essential point of the Rigpa, or intrinsic Awareness, seeing nakedly whatever arises at any gate of the senses, which concerns the Lamp of the Water globe-like eye that lassoes everything at a distance;
5. the essential point which clearly and definitively decides upon the Trikaya when one practices in whatever manner along the path, which concerns the Lamp of the Direct Introduction to the Pure Realms;
6. the essential point of the process of separating Samsara and Nirvana when encountering them anywhere along the Boundary between delusion and understanding, which concerns the Lamp of the Time of the Bardo.

These 6 essential points which concern the 6 Lamps.

That clarifies it, many thanks
PeterC
Posts: 5191
Joined: Tue May 20, 2014 12:38 pm

Re: Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

Post by PeterC »

James Sealy wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 9:18 am
Passing By wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 5:45 pm Saw that Shenten's Summer event for next year is based on this ZZNG text. Can anyone explain which section of the ZZNG this text is from? Is it the practice manual for the Six Lamps? Thank you
THE 6 ESSENTIAL POINTS OF THE BODHICHITTA:
BYANG-CHUB SEMS KYI GNAS DRUG

Here is contained the practice manual called "The 6 Essential Points of the Bodhichitta", according to the Oral Transmission from Zhang-zhung for the Great Perfection Teachings (rdzogs-pa chen-po zhang-zhung snyan-brgyud las byang-chub sems kyi gnad drug ces bya-ba'i lag-len bzhugs-so / ).

Is this text translated/published anywhere?

Thanks
Passing By
Posts: 298
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2018 6:49 pm

Re: Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta

Post by Passing By »

PeterC wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2022 9:20 am
James Sealy wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 9:18 am
Passing By wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 5:45 pm Saw that Shenten's Summer event for next year is based on this ZZNG text. Can anyone explain which section of the ZZNG this text is from? Is it the practice manual for the Six Lamps? Thank you
THE 6 ESSENTIAL POINTS OF THE BODHICHITTA:
BYANG-CHUB SEMS KYI GNAS DRUG

Here is contained the practice manual called "The 6 Essential Points of the Bodhichitta", according to the Oral Transmission from Zhang-zhung for the Great Perfection Teachings (rdzogs-pa chen-po zhang-zhung snyan-brgyud las byang-chub sems kyi gnad drug ces bya-ba'i lag-len bzhugs-so / ).

Is this text translated/published anywhere?

Thanks
Not in full I think but Jean Luc Achard's Six Lamps translation has some sections in the latter part. Yesterday's instructions can be found there for example.

Today Khenchen Tenpa taught primarily from the Twenty-One Nails and Six Lamps though.
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