Spontaneity

'Form is emptiness and emptiness is form'. Our previous discussion explored this fundamental principle – but how can we begin to approach an existential understanding of this? Openness is essential. Openness enables us to awaken opportunities to enter the experience in which form and emptiness are undivided. Openness allows us to let go of referentiality, as Ngak'chang Rinpoche says:"We release the tendency of referring everything we experience back to ourselves as the central headquarters of individuated omnipresence."Dharma provides a limitless array of methods and opportunities to open our view. The Lama unlocks the door to these methods and opportunities and represents an unbiased mirror to our experience. We cannot manipulate, distort, or control the Lama. The mirror of the Lama's view reflects 'as it is'. We can see these reflections if we decide to look with open-hearted simplicity. Ngakak'chang Rinpoche says on this point:"The Lama is reflective because the Lama knows the non-dual state."If the Lama knows the non-dual state then he or she knows the student. The Lama does not have to be acquainted with the history of students to know exactly who they are, because who they are, is evident – both as non-dual display and the display of their dualistic distortions. The vital factor is that the Lama sees the nondual nature of the student sparkling through their neuroses and this makes their neuroses wonderfully workable.The Sutrayana practitioner cultivates the view that everything is inherently empty as a preliminary approach to the principle of form and emptiness being undivided. Vajrayana practitioners base their practice in the experience of emptiness, and discover that form and emptiness are undivided through engagement with the energy of empty-form. The Dzogchen view is that each moment is primordially as it is, in its non-dual display of emptiness and form.

Nyingma practitioners who prioritise Dzogchen refer to Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen rather than Sutrayana and Vajrayana, because from the Dzogchen perspective there are the three yanas which accord with the three kayas. Sutra originates with Nirmanakaya – the sphere of realised manifestation; Tantra originates with Sambhogakaya – the sphere of realised appearances; and Dzogchen originates with Dharmakaya – the sphere of unconditioned potentiality.Those who prioritise Dzogchen, practise Sutric and Tantric methods as a means to return to the base of Dzogchen, and invite the possibility of Dzogchen view. Fom the perspective of Dzogchen all methods are available as constituents of the toolbox of practice. They understand that all teaching can be understood from Dzogchen view. The aim of this book is to present the 'four thoughts that turn the mind to practice' from the perspective of Vajrayana with reference to Dzogchen view, so it is important to say something in more detail about Dzogchen view.As the path of spontaneity, the methods of Dzogchen are fantastically subtle. The opportunity to embrace experience from the Dzogchen perspective is ever-present, but those who have received Dzogchen teaching recognise that they are not always at the base of Dzogchen view. The base of this view is non-duality – the experience of the non-duality of emptiness and form in the moment. To be ever-present at this base, would mean we are also both fully engaged with the path, and realising the fruit of the practice in the moment. This is realisation and we must acknowledge that we are not always present in the base, path, and fruit of Dzogchen. Hence practitioners of lineages based in Dzogchen also practice Tantra and Sutra. From the perspective of Dzogchen, Tantra and Sutra are not seen as lesser vehicles – it is a question of pragmatics and being genuine about the view one is able to live at any moment in time. The most efficacious practice is always that which enables one to return to openness, and to the possibility of the direct experience of the non-duality of emptiness and form.

One method we can employ is an examination of the three spheres of being. It is useful to look at the three spheres, as an expression of the way in which we exist. We can tease apart recognisable aspects of ourselves in order to understand how we can engage with these aspects in practice.The three spheres of being are chö-ku (chos sKu – Dharmakaya), long-ku (longs sKu – Sambhogakaya) and trül-ku (sPrul sKu – Nirmanakaya), which can also be referred to as emptiness, energy and form, or mind, speech and body. Mind – vast empty potential of mind – Sky Mind – not busy conceptual cloud mind – is empty potential, which is not conditioned by any limitation of form. Form can arise in any manner, but it does not colour Sky Mind in any permanent or definitive way. This is chö-ku.Energetic form manifests intangibly. In Sky Mind there is movement of thought, emotion, sensation, ideation; and this movement has the nature of energy. This sphere is communicative and encompasses speech and visualisation, sound and light. This is long-ku.We can become aware of the sphere of tangible form through contact with the sense fields. In this sphere of being we touch, hear, taste, see, and smell. This is the sphere which communicates at the level of body. This is trül-ku1 1 Trül-ku is a word with which may be familiar, as applied to particular individuals. In this sense it refers to an individual recognised as having demonstrated the ability to guide the movement of their disembodied consciousness during the process of death towards a particular new incarnation, and to retain awareness of their previous incarnation.Realisation and transformation can be actively cultivated in all three spheres. The spheres of being are in fact all spontaneously present and inseparable, as aspects of what we are, but we talk about them individually to facilitate understanding. When we talk of the three spheres as a unified experience they are called ngo-wo-nyid ku or dorje ku (ngo bo nyid sKu – svabhavikakaya; rDo rJe sKu – vajrakaya. Ngo-wo-nyid

ku or dorje ku are referred to using the contracted form 'ngo-wo ku' in this text.)View and practice encompass engagement in all three spheres of being so that we can discover the experience of ngo-wo ku. View is the core of practice. Intention and motivation arise out of view and manifest in tangible form in our lives. If our view is based in non-duality then everything that arises from view will be congruent with that realised perspective. The landscape of our lives will be coloured by the nature of view. It is through view that we can directly experience the nature of our beginningless enlightenment. Non-dual view is recognition of the non-duality of emptiness and form.The sphere of intangible appearance or vision, long-ku, communicates view. We may not even be aware that we communicate at the subtle level of the energy of our being, but the resonance of our intention to remain in realised view is communicative. When we develop confidence in view and learn to relax into direct recognition of non-duality, speech, thought, sensation, emotion, and ideation become of the nature of meditation. The energy of our being is spiritual practice.When view is open and clear, and the energy of our being is the energy of practice, activity naturally arises that is congruent with the realisation of non-duality. The manifestations of who we are in terms of our behaviour in the world and our relationship with our environment, create themselves out of the view of non-duality, out of the experience of the indivisibility of emptiness and form. Hence our practice affects the nature of tangible manifestation, and the nature of our physicality also becomes a manifestation of view. We communicate view by our presence in the world as practitioners. Our demeanour speaks to others of practice.However, for the beginner, such potentiality is mere aspiration. To begin with we are only practising view, irrespective of which yana we base our practice in – it has not become our natural state. We are still subject to our neurotic patterning and the familiar emotions of stubbornness, aggression, compulsion, paranoia, and depression. These patterns of distortion override their

potential as equanimity, clarity, indiscriminate compassion, unimpeded activity, and ubiquitous intelligence through our habitual splitting of emptiness and form2. We have a genuine intention of maintaining Dharma view in our communication and behaviour, so that we maintain a harmonious attitude within the environment of those whose lives we touch, but in all honesty we are still at the mercy of the pattern of our emotions. We still find that our lives offer many opportunities to lose touch with Dharma view. However as we try and avoid the continual return to our neurotic patterning, gradually our meditation practice does enable such patterns to become a little clearer to us and less automatically stimulated. We begin to become more transparent to ourselves.2 It may have been noticed that several times I have given a five-fold list of distorted emotion or realised emotion. This refers to teachings based on the elements. For a full and inspiring explanation of the method of exploring our neurotic response, and the possibility of liberated response, refer to ‘Spectrum of Ecstasy’, Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen, Shambhala 2003.We attempt to remain as close as possible to realised view, rather than indulging in conceptual view. This is known as trying to live-the-view, or remaining in pure view. Conceptual view is a construct of neurotic patterning, expectation and projection. When I dwell in conceptual view and my energy and activity arises from this source, I create more causes for dissatisfaction. This will be discussed in detail in the chapter 'Sparkling Puddles'. Realising that I do this, there is the danger of becoming too self-conscious and losing touch with spontaneity. I may become a little constricted in my behaviour. I may cramp myself through my awareness of when I stray from realised view. I forget that spontaneity requires relaxation. I may become so sensitive to my capacity to fail to dwell in realised view, that I lose confidence that I can relax into it. I feel I must watch myself continually and guard my actions. I develop a ‘policeman mind’ and continually watch myself. I develop a cramped and rigid mindfulness without possibility of openness. Spontaneity, and therefore any possibility of Dzogchen view, is lost.

When such cramping occurs, there is the danger that meditation becomes mediation. I add an extra layer of complication into my life because I negotiate between my feeling for realised view and the actuality of conceptual view. Once meditation becomes mediation, energy and activity can no longer be spontaneous and congruent, because I have cramped myself. I lose the capacity to act with spontaneous kindness and openness because every activity is examined for its congruency with realised view.Dzogchen view is attractive. It is simple and direct. It is often heralded as the highest view and many aspire to its practice. However spontaneity cannot be mediated – the words themselves contradict one another – and it is important not to delude ourselves that we are practising Dzogchen view when in fact our practice is based somewhere else. To blurt out one’s referentiality and justify this as spontaneity is not Dzogchen practice. To impose one’s opinion on others or to be blatantly honest and direct to the point of unkindness, is not the spontaneous manifestation of wisdom and compassion. On the other side, to control one’ anger and refrain from hurtful words and actions in an honest attempt to be aware and kind, is appropriate practice for a Dharma practitioner. However we must be clear that this is not the practice of Dzogchen. It is not the spontaneous realisation of the non-duality of the emptiness and form of the emotion. To renounce ones’ anger in order to cultivate a less harmful response, is the practice of Sutra. To transform the energy of the emotion through the implementation of symbolic method, is the practice of Tantra. These are valid and valuable practices that are available to the practitioner who has the courage to be genuine about their relative condition. The continual alignment with kindness and awareness will encourage the spontaneous manifestation of realisation. Only the spontaneous experience of the non-dual energy of the emotion is the practice of Dzogchen.Through saturating myself in practice, and continually immersing myself in communication with the Lama, I can have moments when I actually live view, when I discover the spontaneous presence of the non-duality of

emotion, and it can flow as natural energy. This can only be achieved by constantly familiarising myself with view, through repeatedly discovering presence, and through continually engaging with opportunities for direct introduction to the state of spontaneous presence. Through openness and active appreciation, being spontaneously present in the moment, I can remove the process of mediation and discover the spontaneous energy of my being.I once wrote a short article for vision3 magazine entitled ‘Conceptual view, mediation, and inaction’, which told a story given from two perspectives of view. I reproduce this here as a simple example of how a shift even in mundane view could radically change the same situation:3 Vision is published by the Confederate Sanghas of Aro. It is a web-based magazine available to ‘Friends of the Aro Tradition in the West’. I wake up. Seeing a cold cup of tea beside me. I realise that it must be late. There is such a lot to get done today; I wish they had woken me. I go into the bathroom. The children have obviously been washed, as there are towels and pyjamas all over the floor. Irritated, I pick them up and tidy them away, wondering why I always have to do it. I go downstairs. They are all watching Children's Television. They ignore me, so I ignore them. I go and get my breakfast. When the programme has finished they all come in and say good morning, but I am irritable and snap at them: ‘You left a terrible mess in the bathroom and why didn’t you wake me when you brought me a cup of tea? You know we’ve got a lot to do today and now it's so late...’I wake up. Seeing a cold cup of tea beside me, I realise that it must be late. There is such a lot to get done today; but it was really good of them to let me sleep in. I go into the bathroom. The children have obviously been washed, as there are towels and pyjamas all over the floor. I pick them up and tidy them away. How kind it was that my husband did all this while I slept. I go downstairs. They are all watching Children's Television. They do not hear me come down, so I call out ‘Good morning!’ and get my breakfast. When the programme

finishes they come in and say ‘Good morning!’ We all smile at each other, and I say: ‘Thank you for washing the children and letting me sleep in. I really appreciate that!’Our perspective colours our response. We shall look at this in detail in the chapter ‘Quelling the storm’. To remain in realised view, a sense of humour is essential. When we lack a sense of humour we are not really human. When we lack a sense of humour we are no longer really practitioners. Even in the worst possible scenario – a day when absolutely everything has gone wrong from the moment we wake up – there is still the possibility of appreciating how bizarre and ludicrous this is and simply laughing out loud. I remember once sitting in a traffic jam on the way to a Buddhist event with Venerable Tültrim Zangmo4. We had sat there for quite some time, mostly quiet, but occasionally chatting to each other. Suddenly we both started to giggle. We had both been seized at the same moment by the silliness of sitting in a metal box completely surrounded by other people sitting in metal boxes, going absolutely nowhere!4 Venerable Tsültrim Zangmo was a Western nun ordained into the Kagyüd lineage. She and her mother, who was also ordained, lived at a Buddhist centre at the time of this story. This Centre – which became a Gélug Centre – was my first experience of Buddhism, and I used to attend regularly to receive teachings. She was a warm and inspiring practitioner.Surely the greatest joke of all time is that we are all beginninglessly enlightened, yet we struggle, moment by moment, day by day, to maintain the illusion that we are not. This is crazy – but this is what we do.The path of the Vajrayana practitioner is a marathon not a sprint. I have to be willing to sweat, to wear clothing appropriate for the effort involved, and to leave behind the ties that keep me at the starting line. I have to be content to let those around me observe, either enjoying or despairing of my decision to enter the race. I have to accept that they may not wish to run with me. I have to be confident that there is a finishing line, that there are people looking after me who know the route, and that some have completed the course before me. I

have to accept the support and encouragement of the other runners, knowing that I may be quicker than some, but are no doubt slower than others. I have to pace myself, recognising that there will be times of sudden energy and ease, and times of sudden exhaustion and difficulty.It may be that I am attracted to the path of Dzogchen to avoid this hard work. Perhaps Dzogchen looks like an easier option – a 'get-enlightened-quick' opportunity. If I am attracted to the spontaneity of Dzogchen view, I may delude myself that realisation will arise quickly – that the path will be fast. I am likely to become a disillusioned or self-deluding practitioner. Realisation indeed arises spontaneously and immediately in the moment, but our tendency to grasp at the experience generates an equally immediate return to duality in the next moment.Our ability to discover the space where Dzogchen view can be engaged is capricious. So we have to practice from where we find ourselves. We have to also engage in the methods of Tantra and Sutra in order to afford ourselves opportunities to discover Dzogchen view. Tantra and Sutra require self-discipline, effort, and application. To allow realised view to penetrate being at the level of mind, energy, and body, takes considerable time, effort, and commitment. To be able to entertain spontaneity as a base, a path and a fruit of practice, requires fine tuning of being through practices which address the reality of where we are. With regard to Dzogchen – this does not negate the possibility of direct introduction, remaining without doubt, or continuing in the state – it is simply a realistic statement of our relative condition. So recognising our relative condition, and realising that great effort and commitment is required – how can we maintain effort and commitment? How can we maintain effort and commitment in times between contact with our Lamas and sangha? The next four chapters address this question in detail.The next four chapters explore the ‘four thoughts that turn the mind to practice’5. These ‘four thoughts’ offer methods which help us maintain effort and

commitment. The ‘four thoughts that turn the mind to practice’ are:1. Appreciation of the rarity of genuine human

experience (mi-lü rinpoche – mi lus rin po che – precious human rebirth).

2. Recognition of impermanence and death. (Chi-wa mi-tagpa – chi ba mi rTag pa).

3. Understanding the mechanism of perception and response (lé-gyü dré – las rGyu bras or cause and effect – karma).

4. Contemplation of the unsatisfactory nature of self-defeating cyclic experience6 (Dug-ngal la-jé su thogpa’i shépa – sDug bsNgal la rJes su rTogs pa’i shes pa or khorwa).

5 Thun-mong chi’i ngondro (thun mong phyi’i sNgon ’gro).6 ’khorwa (’khor ba – samsara).These four offer a method of opening view, in order that we are encouraged to practice and embrace Dharma, and in order that we can exist in the world in a manner that is congruent with view.The manner in which this teaching was first presented to me, seemed to be attempting to frighten me into practice, and as such it could easily have acted as a detriment rather than an incentive. I was brought up within a Christian approach to spirituality, and was familiar with the approach of ‘you really should be good or things will get bad for you later’. Discovering a similar approach in Dharma proved unattractive, and it was fortunate that I came into contact with Dzogchen view before I had abandoned this path. However this frightening approach, I now realise, is inevitable from the perspective that enlightenment or salvation is a totally separate state to the one in which I find myself. Hence with my first experience of these teachings, given from the perspective of the Sutric path of renunciation, I felt that I was being taught that there was something wrong with me and my circumstances. Sutric view can be misunderstood as declaring that there is something actually wrong with the ‘form’ of our lives – the physical circumstances and objects with

which we make contact. In fact the path of renunciation is stating that the problem is addiction to, and grasping of, form, not the form itself7. I had the same misunderstanding and confusion about the Sutric view of myself. I interpreted the need to change my view and behaviour as stating that there was something inherently wrong with me. I did not understand that it was my view of myself that was the problem. I received the renunciate message as stating that I was a sinner and had fallen from grace; that my natural tendency was to be a bad person and that I had to be constantly vigilant of controlling the evil within me; that good people were exceptional and may endure great suffering for their spiritual practice; that there are wonderful pure lands or a heaven awaiting the good; that terrible hells await the bad and that I would dwell there indefinitely with little hope of redemption if I fell into them; that spirituality requires a faith that must at times deny logic and reason.7 As stated in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, ‘...most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.’The Sutric path of renunciation, renounces attachment to form, rather than renouncing form itself – this is a detail which is often lost or misinterpreted and was certainly misunderstood by me initially. Inevitably, when we discover Dharma we tend to bring cultural and educational baggage with us. We may approach Dharma with a fixed mind-set and interpret its teachings through the filter of our religious and cultural background. I saw Dharma as a paternalistic, autocratic structure that stated that it knew better than me. Consequently teachings that were presented from the perspective of stressing the urgency to practice now, tended to produce a negative reaction in me. I felt that I was being indoctrinated to ‘do what these sacred texts tell you to do or else...’ This interpretation will not be helpful for truly engaging in the path of Dharma – whatever yana practice is based within. This approach

produced depression, lack of energy and a feeling of hopelessness in me, rather than inspiration and a fire for practice. It could have turned me away from spiritual practice altogether, if the teachers I encountered had not been so inspiring of themselves. It was my confidence in them as kind, gentle, and exceptional human beings that kept me interested. Dharma methods offer the opportunity to find out for ourselves whether practice is pragmatic and efficacious, and discover the reality of view ourselves, if we can stay with practice long enough.The four thoughts offer an opportunity to directly discover realised view. If we open ourselves to these teachings, and actually engage in practice, we will discover the extraordinarily skilful capacity of this and other methods. It will become clear that Dharma functions.As mentioned in the first chapter, fundamental teachings normally associated with Sutrayana open out into great depth and subtlety when presented from the perspective of Dzogchen. The four thoughts that turn the mind to practice are found in the Ulukhamukha Upadesha Dakini Sutra of Khyungchen Aro Lingma's Dzogchen cycle of gTérma. When viewed from the perspective of Dzogchen the four thoughts become a source of joy and celebration. They become the seed of great energy and commitment. They become engagement with the path. The warning of the danger of failing to engage in spiritual practice is still apparent, but the emphasis is on the celebration of the simple and direct reality of their declaration. The emphasis is on the four thoughts as a method to approach 'form is emptiness and emptiness is form'. The four thoughts that turn the mind to practice are one example of the macrocosm of Buddhism presented in a microcosm. To truly grasp the principle and function of these four thoughts, is to have entered the path of Dharma in a deep and meaningful way. To fully engage with realisation of the four thoughts, is to be spontaneously present in the actuality of the path.Questioner: I have heard that at a Buddhist conference in India it was said that people who hold Dzogchen view

tend to be a little cold. I find it disconcerting that Dzogchen is a ‘higher’ view, but seems to lose the warmth of practices such as developing loving kindness that are found in Sutrayana.Ngakma Nor’dzin: I would say that this has nothing to do with Dzogchen or with any of the vehicles. This has to do with people. There is nothing inherent in Dzogchen view which would lead to coldness – only the misunderstanding of Dzogchen view. All the vehicles can be misunderstood: Sutrayana can be misunderstood as being life and body negative; Vajrayana can be misunderstood as exotic or erotic. With regard to Dzogchen, it certainly wasn’t a cold intellectual approach that attracted Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen – I think such an idea would amuse them. In fact it was their warmth and kindness that attracted me, and their patient willingness to answer my questions in terms I could understand. I find that remarks such as the one you have quoted to be somewhat questionable – as are many generalisations. It has been my experience that coldness afflicts many who would call themselves Buddhist, and that coldness can be found among the people who follow any religion.It is important that a Nyingma practitioner does not lose sight of the primary motivation of practice. This primary motivation is the wish to realise non-duality in order to benefit all sentient beings. This motivation – Bodhicitta – remains as a fundamental ground of intention. We do not let go of the motivation of ‘lower’ yanas when we are introduced to Dzogchen practice. The Dzogchen perspective can be misunderstood as dispassionate and divorced from concern for others – but only by people who see Dzogchen from the point of view of ‘personal growth’. This is actually a New Age distortion. Anyone approaching Dzogchen for their own realisation alone, is like an ill disciplined follower of Pratyékabuddhayana (solitary realiser), who will therefore not achieve the goal of the Pratyékabuddhayana. Dzogchen view is expansive, embracing the motivation of the other yanas in the spontaneous realisation of all motivation and intent as instantaneously present. Thus we hold to the

view that our own neuroses are illusions and not to be taken seriously, whilst treating other beings’ problems and unhappiness as real. This is a great source of compassion. Through holding to view, we try not to let ourselves continually spew our subjective emotional responses on those around us because we know they are incongruent. We try to help others as much as possible within the limitations of our capacity.To a Nyingma practitioner, Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen remain available and undivided as the texture of view, meditation and action. If we find ourselves in a situation where awareness is absent, we can still be kind. We generally know what is kind and what is unkind. It may be the more difficult choice, the more challenging action, but we know what is kind.Q: When I stop feeling anger, is there an in-between phase when I experience something that is neutral before I am able to experience liberated energy? Does emotion change when we start practising?NN: Emotion does not disappear when we start to practice – but our relationship with our emotions changes. You see, we have a word for anger because that is what we habitually name a particular type of experience – in fact there are many words under the umbrella of ‘anger’: irritation, frustration, edginess, stress, touchiness, rage, fury, exasperation – and many more. Anger is our reaction in a particular situation while we exist in duality. However the essential energy of anger is simply that: energy. It does not need to be defined or limited via referentiality and the conceptual scaffolding we erect. We can allow this conceptual scaffolding to dissolve. Once dissolved the energy of anger becomes what it is: clarity. Clarity is the non-dual wisdom which distorts into anger when we manufacture duality from the non-dual ground of being.Q: Yes I’ve noticed that two people may do exactly the same thing in front of me and with one of them it would be fine, but it would irritate me like mad in the other one.NN: Yes, absolutely. There is no neutral stage with emotion. We experience the energy of an emotion – but

how we experience depends on our referential interpretation of our situation. When we are able to let go of reference points, we experience energy nakedly and directly.Q: Isn’t it important to keep the 'watcher' so that we are aware when we are moving away from Dharma view?NN: Mindfulness is important, but in terms of Dzogchen, in terms of spontaneity, we have to let the watcher go. You cannot watch yourself be spontaneous. We are not going to be able to watch ourselves become enlightened – even though this is the greatest desire of most of us. This may sound silly, but that is exactly what we want to do. Eventually we simply have to relax, and allow ourselves the opportunity to enter the experience of non-duality through the mere indication, implicit instruction, or pointing-out instructions of our Lama.Q: When we realise that we cannot stay aligned with pure view, is there the danger that we simply suppress our responses because we worry about hurting people?NN: Indeed there is.Q: So how can we avoid this?NN: Through the regular practice of meditation techniques that enable us to discover 'Sky Mind' and let go of 'cloud-only mind'. This will gradually enable us to develop a sufficient sense of spaciousness that we can begin to recognise our habitual responses. Then we have the choice of responding in a direction that will lead towards realisation rather than away from it.Q: A part of many practices is 'the dedication of merit'. I find accumulating merit a strange idea – it feels like collecting the opposite of sin. I didn’t think Dharma included these sorts of concepts.NN: The Tibetan word that roughly equates with ‘sin’ is dig-pa (sDig-pa). Interestingly this is the same as the word for scorpion. Ngak'chang Rinpoche once told me a story about a scorpion that you might find helpful with regard to the word digpa. A scorpion sits by the side of a river wanting to get across. It spies a frog and asks

the frog most politely: “Dear Frog – would you be so kind as to carry me across the river on your back?” The frog – aghast at the proposition – replies: “Dear me! no – you're a scorpion – you'd sting me and I would die.” The scorpion then points out the logical problem with this: “Dear Frog – it would not be in my best interests to sting you – for if I did I would drown.” The frog being an eminently logical creature saw the sense of this and agreed to let the scorpion climb on its back. The frog started out across river, but no sooner had the frog reached the middle of the current than the scorpion arched its tail and stung the frog. With its dying breath, the frog asked: “Why?” to which the scorpion replied in a resigned tone: “I do regret it dear Frog, but I couldn't help it. It’s is my nature, you see.” The concept of digpa is not encumbered by connotations of guilt or penance. Digpa is, as Ngak’chang Rinpoche describes it, ‘dualistic derangement’ – rather than badness or evil. Even deliberate badness is regarded as confusion rather than an act perpetrated in the full knowledge of non-dual reality. Overcoming digpa involves the simple recognition that it is not possible to hurt others without hurting yourself.Q. And merit?NN: Merit accumulation is a Sutrayana approach and based on the idea that the path to enlightenment is a long and difficult task. Skilful action – action that moves in the direction of enlightenment – is continually developed, while unskilful action – action that moves away from enlightenment – is continually renounced. Recognition of skill, and celebration of skilful actions, strengthens the view of renunciation.Q: On retreats and at other times we meet with other practitioners, are we attempting to live the view in a more complete manner?NN: Yes. Sangha8 is so important. It provides a radically different social context. Ideally this is the social context of pure view which is a powerful opportunity for undermining dualism. Here we can try to view each other as people who practice pure view and bask in the appreciation of that.

8 Sangha (Sanskrit): the community of practitioners. (Tib: gendün, dGe’dun)Q: Yes, even though I'm a practitioner, there are still periods of time when I'm not aware – when I'm on automatic pilot or something. Then I come out of it and realise I have been like that. I notice and realise that the for the last three hours I've been unaware.NN: Yes – but every time you notice is a success. I assume that you are not speaking of rigpa when you use the word awareness?Q: No. I just mean being present and fully conscious.NN: Then every moment we become present and fully conscious is the success of re-emerging presence. Every moment of presence enables and encourages another moment, that enables us to awaken into presence more often. Every three hours is actually astonishing if you consider there are so many who spend their entire lives partially unconscious.Q: Yes, the time I spend with the sangha gives me the ability to be more awake, and in touch with practice. This decreases if I'm away from my sangha for too long.Q2: Retreats can be like a battery charge.NN: Yes – but it is valuable to be able to take that experience into everyday life. It would be a shame if you became entirely dependant on the presence of sangha. It would be valuable to observe to what extent you can bring a greater sense of awakeness into your every day life. This should increase over the years – or else you would have to question the nature of the awakeness on retreats.Q: Could you say something about maintaining commitment and energy out of the context of sangha?NN: Well . . . it can be hard in the early years of practice to maintain commitment and energy in a country where you cannot practice so openly; where practice is not part of the culture. It is important for younger practitioners to meet with sangha to practice – to do things together which bring us back to an understanding of ourselves as practitioners. Ngala ’ö-

Dzin told me how as a child, he and his brother would be especially reprimanded for arguing on a Sunday afternoon. This was because 'they had just come back from church'. It would be permissible by Monday or Tuesday (laughter), but just after church they should be better behaved – because they should still be under the good influence of church. We don't have the opportunity to be ‘church on Sunday’ Dharma practitioners in Britain, so it's important to meet and share practice experience with sangha as often as we can. Eventually the awareness of being a practitioner is always with us.Q: I thought that Sutra had to be practised for quite a while before you could move into Tantra?NN: Well this is a particular view, and it is not that you leave Sutra to enter the practice of Tantra. There are Lamas who say that Sutra has to be practised for a substantial period before Tantra, and from that point of view Tantra is approached in the language of Sutra. From the perspective of Dzogchen however, Sutra, Tantra, and Dzogchen are complete paths in themselves. Each vehicle can be approached directly if one meets the Lama who offers the teaching. In terms of Tantra the experience of wisdom and compassion provided by Sutra, is replicated in the Tantric sphere as inspiration or devotion.Q: There is a Tantric ngöndro to bring us to the base of Tantra I think?NN: Yes. The four practices of Tantric ngöndro9 enable the practitioner to experience emptiness. The non-referential quality of these practices enables us to let go of our ordinary view. Throwing yourself on the floor over and over again, or piling grains of rice onto a disk surmounted by subsequent rings, are activities which do not make immediate sense. We are therefore pushed into an empty position. We have to let go of the idea that we ‘perform these practices in order to get to the good stuff’- the ‘higher’ practices of Tantra. The flavour of each aspect of the Tantric ngöndro reflects the flavour of Tantra. If we do not value the ngöndro,

then we are unlikely to successfully engage in the practice of Tantra.9 Tantric ngöndro requires the accumulation of 100,000 repetitions of four practices. 1. Gu chag-tsal wa (gus phyag ’tshal ba) – prostrations with recitation of refuge and bodhicitta); 2. Kyil’khor (mandala offering); 3. Dorje Sempa (rDo rJe sems dPa – Vajrasattva mantra); 4. Lama’i Naljor (bLa ma’i rNal ’byor – guru yoga). During his visit in 2004, Lopön Ögyen Ten’dzin Rinpoche explained that in his tradition refuge and Bodhicitta are engaged with as separate practices, so that the Tantric ngöndro has five parts and a completion requires 500,000 repetitions of practice: kyab-dro (skyabs’gro), Sem-kye (Sems bskyed), Kyil’khor (mandala), Dorsem-Gom-de (rdor sems sGom slas), Lama’i Naljor (bla ma’i rnal ’jor).Q: Is there a ngöndro for Dzogchen?NN: Yes there is – the Four Naljors of Dzogchen Sem-dé: shi-nè, lhatong, nyi’mèd and lhundrüp10.10 Aro’i Naljor Zhi Ngöndro (A ro’i rNal ’byor bZhi sNon ’gro). See ‘Roaring Silence’ by Ngakpa Chögyam and Khandro Déchen – Shambhala 2002.