8.5”x11” Printed on Recycled Paper
Spiral Bound with a Clear Protective Cover
64 pages
This is a collection of three translations of Longchenpa’s (1308-1364) amazing Dzogchen mind treasures from his Innermost Bindu of the Dakinis (Khandro Yantig) treasure cycle.
First, there is his Instructions on Divining Precious Luminosity. In his own words:
The ultimate extract of all the Buddhas,
The path of the most secret essence that leads to Buddhahood in one life,
The actual gathering of the profound key points of the enlightened mind treasures
Is set forth directly as this essence of practice from the depths of my heart.
This text includes instructions on the key points of luminosity for liberation in this lifetime, the key points of luminosity to be liberated in the bardo, and the key points of luminosity to be liberated in the next lifetime. The key points for liberation in this lifetime, the main portion of these instructions includes details on the practice of direct transcendence (thod rgal) both the context of outer illumination (using the sun, moon, and fire) and in darkness (at night and in dark retreats). These instructions are very precious in that they present clear experiential instruction on the practices of merging with the luminous nature of the mind directly without intellectual elaboration.
The next translation in this collection is Longchenpa’s Teaching on the Four Lamps (of Direct Transcendence): the lamp of the far reaching water-lasso of the eyes, the lamp of the completely pure expanse, the lamp of the empty bindu, and the lamp of self-arisen wisdom. This teaching includes a presentation of the four lamps that includes a direct introduction to them, how they work on the path, and how the fruition of enlightenment is attained through them. Essentially, the nature of enlightenment is hidden deep inside our minds, yet can be accessed through the skillful methods of Dzogchen. When we recognize the appearances that arise through the four lamps as non-dual manifestations of the luminosity of our own minds, we begin a process that allows us to shed our impure perception of reality to the point that the entire scope of our being dissolves into the true nature of the primordially pure and spontaneously present enlightenment that has always been hidden inside us. Such attainment, when done in a manner to help others, is known as the famous rainbow body of the great transfer.
The last translation in this collection is Longchenpa’s Precious Treasury of Meaningful Words. This commentary summarizes all the key points of the entire Heart Bindu of the Dakinis (Khandro Nyingthig) treasure cycle. It is the most concise of three such texts, which include the medium length Precious Golden Garland of Instructions (also available here at Buddha Visions) and the vast and extensive Cloud Oceans of the Profound Meaning of the Pith Instructions of the Heart Bindu of the Dakinis (forthcoming). The Precious Treasury of Meaningful Words is unique in that it distills the key points of practice and supporting instruction into their very essence, weaving verses of the seventeen pith instruction Dzogchen tantras and the Secret Tantra of the Blazing Sun of the Luminous Expanse through his prose to accent his understanding with “meaningful words”. This extremely profound precious treasury has ten main chapters that not only cover the practical aspects of the Dzogchen path, but provide critical background on the true nature of both the enlightened universe of the Buddhas and the ordinary universe of sentient beings, along with the knowledge and tools they can utilize to free themselves from suffering once and for all.
These include the original Tibetan side by side with the English to facilitate their study and transmission. Note that these teachings were traditionally intended to be studied and practiced under the careful guidance of a qualified teacher, who not only held the lineage for such teachings, but also had full experiential realization of their inner meanings.
Outline of the Precious Treasury of Meaningful Words
1. Teaching on How Things Truly Are
2. Way Samantabhadra is Liberated
3. Way the Three Realms of Samsara are Confused
4. Way Primordial Wisdom Abides in Sentient Beings
5. Paths and Doors from which this Appears
5.1. Paths from which this Moves
5.2. Doorways from which this Appears
6. Field where this Appears
7. How to Practice in this Lifetime
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Recognizing the Way the Four Visions Arise
7.2.1. Vision of Seeing Reality Directly
7.2.2. Vision of the Increase of Experiences
7.2.3. Vision of the Climax of Awareness
7.2.4. Vision of Being Consumed into Reality
7.3. Supporting Pith Instructions
7.3.1. Establishing the Ground in the Three Ways of Not Moving
7.3.2. Taking the Measure of the Three Ways of Staying
7.3.3. Planting the Stakes through the Three Attainments
7.3.4. Four Types of Confidence
8. How the Bardo Arises
8.1. Instructions like a Captain Reaching an Island of Gold
8.2. Instructions like an Attractive Person Looking in a Mirror
8.3. Pith Instructions like a Child Crawling into Their Mother’s Lap
8.4. Instructions like Putting a Drain on a Broken Pipe
9. How the Natural Nirmanakaya Realms Appear
10. Fruition of Liberation into the Primordial Ground of the Beginning