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Don’t Be Too Attached to Worldly Things: Understand Suffering and Its Cause
by Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche
One Month Dzogchen Retreat on Lama Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol’s Togal Instructions
Padma Samye Ling
April 3, 2017
www.padmasambhava.org
“By generating bodhichitta and reflecting on impermanence, we are naturally led to refuge. Refuge means we feel close to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and to Guru Padmasambhava and the lineage masters. Refuge also means that we’re connecting to the true nature of our minds. This is precious and wonderful, and we have every reason to rejoice at our good fortune. At the same time, we should honor the laws of karma by keeping our conduct in accordance with Dharma, and by flowing along with the interdependent coordination system. This also means that we do not disregard the customs and values of our society, but are mindful and adhere to them. When we respect the laws of karma in these ways, the result is harmony and peace.”
Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches
The Beauty of Awakened Mind Dzogchen Lineage of the Great Master Shigpo Dudtsi (pg 190)
Photo of Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Rinpoche leading a Shower of Blessings meditation practice on the Anniversary of Longchenpa at PBC Palm Beach Dharma Center, February 3, 2018 by Mark McDonnell.
“Nyingmapas view the first turning of the wheel of Dharma as provisional, which is in agreement with both the Rangtong and Shentong positions. However, the Nyingma school also believes that both the second and third turnings of the wheel of Dharma are equally definitive. Why does the Nyingma school believe this? For the Nyingmas, the second turning of the wheel of Dharma emphasizes emptiness, whereas the third turning emphasizes clarity. Since emptiness and clarity are equal and inseparable aspects of the same nature, they do not contradict each other, and so one cannot make big distinctions between the two. For this reason, the Nyingma school perceives both the second and third turnings of the wheel of Dharma to be definitive, and thus does not consider the Rangtong and Shentong views to be completely separate or mutually exclusive.
In this way, Rangtong and Shentong merge in the Nyingma school without contradiction. On the one hand, Nyingmapas recognize the truth of the Rangtong view, which explains the absolute nature as emptiness. Hence they perceive the second turning of the wheel of Dharma—the Prajnaparamita teachings that clarify the nature of emptiness—as definitive. On the other hand, Nyingmapas also see the third turning of the wheel of Dharma as definitive because it expounds tathagatagarbha and the five wisdoms, four kayas, ten powers, and four fearless states of enlightenment, otherwise known as the clarity aspect of the nature. So clarity and emptiness are both the nature of mind, of tathagatagarbha. This was pointed out and accepted by Mipham Rinpoche as well as the great master Longchenpa. In his Tegsum Dzo, or Treasure of the Different Doctrines, Longchenpa explains that the clarity and emptiness aspects of the nature are equally natural.”
Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches
Opening the Wisdom Door of the Rangtong & Shentong Views (pgs 25-26)
Photo of Buddha Shakyamuni teaching his first five disciples in Deer Park in Sarnath, India, photographed at the Mahabodhi Temple in 2008.
“So stay right here, you lucky people,
let go and be happy in the natural state.
Let your complicated life and everyday confusion alone
and out of quietude, doing nothing, watch the nature of mind.
This piece of advice is from the bottom of my heart:
fully engage in contemplation and understanding is born;
cherish non-attachment and delusion dissolves;
and forming no agenda at all reality dawns.
Whatever occurs, whatever it may be, that itself is the key, and without stopping it or nourishing it, in an even flow, freely resting, surrendering to ultimate contemplation, in naked pristine purity we reach consummation.”
Longchenpa
