FORTNIGHT OVERVIEW
Dzogchen Bon The
Way of the Treasury
Spring - Fortnight 5 (Fire+Water)
Feast/May
26: The fifth and last fortnight of the Spring Season is associated with
Dzogchen and its 3 expressions.
Mind: Tögal
Vision 1: Direct Perception of Reality (Chönyi Nangwa): Perceiving
phenomena as luminous manifestations. Transformation: Begins integration
of body and mind with rigpa.
Body: Water
related practices. (daily 20" exercise)
Truths: LosNyamchodar
like Festival on first day.
History: Semde,
part of Dzogchen’s early transmission (c. 8th century CE) via Garab Dorje,
focuses on mind’s nature, preserved in texts like the Kunjed Gyalpo. Purification
rituals and mindfocused meditations reveal innate awareness, aligning inner
clarity with outer fluidity. Its unique view of mind as the source of all
phenomena sets it apart.
Mythos: Yeshey
Tzogyal, first female Buddha of Tibet & Padmasambhava/Shenrab Miwo.Fortnight
5: Transcendence and Merger with Beauty. Descent to Hell: Tsogyal journeys
to infernal realms, liberating tormented beings with her boundless compassion.
Water related practices. (daily 20" exercise)
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Feast/Fast | Nyamchod Festival | - | - | - | - |
Practice | River Tsok Offering: Perform a tsok (feast offering) by a river, including water-based offerings like juice. Share the offering mentally with all beings, resting in rigpa as the fluid unity of giver, gift, and receiver. | River Gazing for Rigpa: Sit by a flowing river or stream, gazing at the water’s movement without fixation. Allow thoughts to arise and dissolve like ripples, resting in the fluid, non-grasping awareness of Dzogchen’s natural state. | Chang Offering Practice: Offer a small bowl of chang (Tibetan barley beer) on an altar to Guru Rinpoche, reciting his mantra (OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM). Contemplate the liquid’s fluidity as a symbol of rigpa’s effortless adaptability, then rest in non-meditation | Water Bowl Offering Meditation: Arrange seven water bowls on an altar, filling them mindfully with clean water as an offering to enlightened beings. As you pour, rest in rigpa, letting the act of offering dissolve ego-clinging, the water’s flow mirroring the mind’s fluid nature. | Stream Walking Meditation: Walk slowly barefoot in a shallow stream, feeling the water’s flow against your feet. With each step, release mental fixations, aligning with Dzogchen’s teaching of flowing naturally in the present moment. |
13. Atiyoga (Dzogchen) – Tögal: Initial Vision
Integration: Bon’s Way of the Great Perfection (visionary practices).
Expanded Direction: Engage in Tögal practices (e.g., sky-gazing) to perceive the clear light (chos nyid mngon sum) as manifestations of rigpa. Rest in awareness while observing subtle lights or visions, inspired by Yeshe Tsogyal’s visionary mastery.
Practice: Practice sky-gazing or dark retreat to awaken spontaneous presence.
Goal: Manifest spontaneous presence (lhündrup).
Exercise:
Sky-Gazing: 20 minutes at dawn/dusk, gaze at a clear
sky, resting in rigpa, noting subtle lights or patterns.
Meditation: 10 minutes post-gazing, rest in the
empty nature of visions.
Reflection: Journal on visionary experiences, inspired
by Yeshe Tsogyal.
State to Achieve: Initial perceptions of light or
space, with a deepened sense of reality’s fluidity.
Example of State: While sky-gazing, you see faint
rainbow lights, feeling they arise from your own awareness, like a dream.
Outcome: Initial visions of light, deepened awareness
of reality.
Quote: “The clear light dawns in the expanse of
awareness.” – Yeshe Tsogyal (attributed, Nyingma tradition).
Second 5 Day Ko
Day 6-10 of 5th Fortnight
Mind: Tögal
Visions 2–3: Increasing Experience and Full Maturity (Nyam Gong Phelwa,
Rigpa Tsephe): Intensifying and stabilizing luminous visions. Transformation:
Fully integrates awareness, transforming the subtle body.
Body: Water
related practices. (daily 20" exercise)
Truths: The
History: Longde,
emerging in Dzogchen’s 9thcentury development, emphasizes spaciousness,
linked to Vairochana’s translations. Water offerings and spacious meditations
foster cosmic unity, integrating practitioner with the universe. Its unique
idea of realization through vastness complements Semde’s introspective
focus.
Mythos: Yeshey
Tzogyal, first female Buddha of Tibet & Padmasambhava/Shenrab Miwo.Fortnight
5: Transcendence and Merger with Beauty. Dakini Coronation: Crowned a dakini
by enlightened deities, she embodies the feminine principle of wisdom.
Water related practices. (daily 20" exercise)
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Feast/Fast | - | - | - | - | - |
Practice | Purification by Water Visualization: Visualize a cascade of radiant water pouring from Guru Rinpoche’s heart, washing away karmic traces. As the water absorbs negativities, rest in the pure, fluid expanse of awareness, free from dualistic grasping. | Moon Salutations - Honoring the moon for calmness. | Water Bowl Cleaning Practice: Daily, empty and clean altar water bowls with mindfulness, chanting OM AH HUM to consecrate the water. See the act as purifying the mind’s rigidity, adapting to the fluid spontaneity of rigpa. | Lake Reflection Contemplation: Sit by a still lake, observing reflections on its surface. Contemplate how appearances arise and vanish in the mind’s fluid nature, resting in Dzogchen’s non-conceptual awareness, like water undisturbed by ripples. | Rain Mantra Recitation: During rain, recite the Dzogchen lineage prayer or a short mantra (e.g., AH), visualizing each drop as a blessing dissolving obscurations. Let the mind flow with the rain’s rhythm, adapting to the natural state. |
14. Atiyoga (Dzogchen) – Tögal: Developing Visions
Integration: Bon’s Way of the Great Perfection (advanced visionary practices).
Expanded Direction: Continue Tögal to expand and stabilize visions (nyams gong ‘phel and rig pa tshad phebs). Observe visions without attachment, recognizing their empty nature, inspired by Yeshe Tsogyal’s teachings on non-grasping.
Practice: Use Tögal postures and gazes to deepen visionary experiences, resting in their emptiness.
Goal: Expand and integrate visionary manifestations.
Exercise:
Tögal: 25 minutes daily, practice specific postures/gazes
(e.g., lion’s gaze), noting visions (lights, forms).
Meditation: 10 minutes, rest in the empty nature
of visions, like rainbows in the sky.
Integration: Observe daily phenomena (e.g., light
reflections) as visionary, inspired by Yeshe Tsogyal.
State to Achieve: Vivid, stable visions that feel
integrated with awareness, with reduced fixation on appearances.
Example of State: You see clear mandalas of light
during Tögal, yet remain unattached, perceiving them as empty manifestations.
Outcome: Vivid, stable visions, reduced fixation
on phenomena.
Quote: “Visions arise like rainbows, empty yet apparent.”
– Yeshe Tsogyal (attributed, Nyingma tradition).
Third 4/5 Day Ko
Day 11-15 of 5th Fortnight
Mind: Tögal
Vision 4 and Fruition: Exhaustion of Phenomena and Rainbow Body (Chönyi
Zäpa, Jalü): Dissolving phenomena into the primordial state,
achieving rainbow body or great transference. Transformation: Attains full
enlightenment, with the physical body dissolving into light.
Body: Water
related practices. (daily 20" exercise)
Truths: Yungdrun
5 day fast on last days of fortnight.
History: Menngagde,
formalized in the 11th century with terma revelations (e.g., by Longchenpa,
1308–1364 CE), offers secret instructions for direct realization. Dzogchen
retreats and directpath practices cut through concepts, merging practitioner
with primordial awareness. Its unique reliance on oral and hidden teachings
ensures an unmediated experience.
Mythos: Merger
with Prajnaparamita: Dissolving into rainbow light, she unites with Prajnaparamita,
becoming the essence of transcendent beauty and wisdom.
Water related practices. (daily 20" exercise)
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Feast/Fast | Yungdrun Gutor Retreat -5 day | Yungdrun Gutor Retreat -5 day | Yungdrun Gutor Retreat -5 day | Yungdrun Gutor Retreat -5 day | Yungdrun Gutor Retreat -5 day |
Practice | Tibetan Herbal Bath Purification:, Prepare a bath with sacred herbs (Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) – Water) similar to one used in Tibetan rituals. Soak while visualizing water cleansing obscurations, adapting your mind to the fluid ease of pure awareness, free from rigidity. | Tibetan Herbal Bath Purification: California Juniper (Juniperus californica) – Fire | Tibetan Herbal Bath Purification: Mormon Tea (Ephedra nevadensis) – Air | Tibetan Herbal Bath Purification: White Sage (Salvia apiana) – Space | Tibetan Herbal Bath Purification: California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) – Earth |
15. Atiyoga (Dzogchen) – Tögal: Fruition and Dissolution
Integration: Bon’s Way of the Great Perfection (ultimate realization practices).
Expanded Direction: Dissolve all phenomena into the natural state (chos nyid zad pa) through sustained Tögal practice. Live in continuous rigpa, achieving liberation or the rainbow body, inspired by Yeshe Tsogyal’s ultimate realization.
Practice: Practice Tögal to dissolve phenomena, integrating rigpa fully into life.
Goal: Attain ultimate liberation, potentially manifesting the rainbow body.
Exercise:
Tögal: 30–40 minutes daily, practice advanced
postures/gazes, resting in dissolution of phenomena into light.
Integration: Live with continuous rigpa, observing
all experiences as empty and luminous.
Reflection: Dedicate practice to all beings, inspired
by Yeshe Tsogyal.
State to Achieve: A state of complete liberation,
where phenomena dissolve into the natural state, like clouds vanishing
in the sky.
Example of State: All experiences arise and dissolve
effortlessly in rigpa, with a profound sense of freedom and unity, as if
your body is light.
Outcome: Liberation, potential rainbow body, full
integration of enlightenment.
Quote: “All phenomena dissolve into the great expanse,
like clouds in the sky.” – Yeshe Tsogyal (attributed, Nyingma tradition).