According to Namkhai Norbu, in Dzogchen, “to become realized simply means to discover and manifest that which from the very beginning has been our own true condition: the Zhi (gzhi) or Base.”[63] Since the basis, the path of practice and the fruit or result of practice are non-dual from the ultimate perspective, in Dzogchen understands the path as not separate from the result or fruit of the path (i.e. Buddhahood). Once a Dzogchen practitioner has recognized their true nature (and “do not remain in doubt” regarding this), the path consists of the integration (sewa) of all experiences in their life with the state of rigpa. All these experiences are self-liberated through this integration or mixing.[64]
This process is often explained through three “liberations” or capacities of a Dzogchen practitioner:[65]
Cherdrol (“one observes and it liberates”) - This is when an ordinary appearance occurs and one sees its true nature, which leads to its self-liberation. It is compared to how a drop of dew evaporates when the sunlight shines on it.
Shardrol (“as soon as it arises it liberates itself”) - This occurs when any sense contact or passion arises self-liberates automatically and effortlessly. This is compared to how snow melts immediately on falling into the sea.
Rangdrol (“of itself it liberates itself”), according to Norbu, this is “completely non-dual and all-at-once, instantaneous self-liberation. Here the illusory separation of subject and object collapses of itself, and one’s habitual vision, the limited cage, the trap of ego, opens out into the spacious vision of what is”.[66] The simile used here is a snake effortlessly unwinding its own body.
Advanced Dzogchen practitioners are also said to sometimes manifest supranormal knowledge (Skt. abhijñā, Tib. mngon shes), such as clairvoyance and telepathy.[67]
19th century thangka depicting Padmasambhava’s rainbow body.
Tögal practice may lead to full Buddhahood and the self-liberation of the human body into a rainbow body[note 1] at the moment of death,[68] when all fixation and grasping has been exhausted.[69] Tibetan Buddhism holds that the rainbow body is a nonmaterial body of light with the ability to exist and abide wherever and whenever as pointed by one’s compassion.[70][71] It is a manifestation of the sambhogakāya and its attainment is said to be accompanied by the appearance of lights and rainbows.[72][71]
Some exceptional practitioners are held to have realized a higher type of rainbow body without dying (these include the 24 Bön masters from the oral tradition of Zhang Zhung, Tapihritsa, Padmasambhava, and Vimalamitra). Having completed the four visions before death, the individual focuses on the lights that surround the fingers. His or her physical body self-liberates into a nonmaterial body of light with the ability to exist and abide wherever and whenever as pointed by one’s compassion.[71]"
"4 MODES OF LIBERATION from Patrul Rinpoche
The four modes of liberation. In Tibetan, the Drolwa (liberations) Zhee (four):
CHERDROL – Liberation through bare attention.
Liberation by way of recognizing thoughts.
“Like meeting a person whom we have met before.”
SHARDROL – Liberation as soon as it arises.
Thoughts liberate themselves as soon as they arise.
Thoughts are immediately carried along by their own momentum of arising into the natural state and liberated.
“Like a snake unknotting itself from it’s coils.”
“Like drawing on the surface of water, the picture disintegrates as soon as it is drawn.”
RANGDROL – Self-liberation.
Liberation is automatic, spontaneous, effortless, instantaneous.
Thoughts arise into their immediate and spontaneous liberation; their very arising is their liberating.
By-itself-liberating.
“Like a thief entering an empty house and finding there is nothing to steal.”
YAYDROL – Primordial Liberation.
Rigpa itself, which has never been otherwise than totally liberated from the very beginning."
" Tögal is practiced in a completely dark setting or through sky gazing.[7] The practices engage the subtle body of psychic channels, winds and drops (rtsa rlung thig le).[8] These practices aim at generating a spontaneous flow of luminous, rainbow-colored images (such as thigles or circles of rainbow light) that gradually expand in extent and complexity.[9] The meditator uses these to recognize his mind’s nature. According to Hatchell, these visionary yogic techniques:
[…] are based on the idea that pure awareness is locked away in the body’s core, localized at the heart. A set of luminous energy channels then run from the heart to the eyes, acting as pathways through which awareness can travel and exit the body. Based on special yogic techniques, awareness can be induced to emerge from the eyes and light up into visionary appearances. This provides an opportunity for recognition: for the yogi to realize that the visionary appearances “out there” are none other than presencings of an internal awareness, and thus to undo the basic error of ignorance.[10]
The practice of tögal entails progressing through the “Four Visions” (snang ba bzhi), which are:[11][12][13]
“The Absolute Nature Becoming Manifest” or “The Vision of Awareness’ Immediacy” - This refers to initial visions of lights in the visual field, such as circles called thigle, and “linked chains of spots”.
“The Experience of Increasing Appearances” or “The Vision of the Intensification of Experience” - According to Hatchell, in this stage “visionary experience becomes more intense. The number, shape, and size of the appearances increase, and they begin to assemble together in simple configurations.”[14]
“Awareness Reaching its Greatest Magnitude” or “The Vision of Awareness’ Optimization” - Hatchell writes that “at this stage, the abstract lights begin to organize themselves, ultimately taking shape as a mandala of 100 peaceful and wrathful deities.”[14]
“The Exhaustion of Phenomena in Dharmata” or “The Vision of Exhaustion within Reality” - In this final vision, appearances dissolve back into the expanse and fade away."
My friend did a home based Jhana retreat on Zoom for a week and he believes that he experienced at least the initial Jhana briefly. But it wasn’t a sustained state or one that he can just re-enter at will.
It’s like psychedelics . . . they can give you a taste of the enlightened state if you’re lucky, but then you’ve got to practice, practice, practice to get to a permanent enlightened state.
It’s like that old joke: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”
Answer: “Practice, practice, practice!”
My friend did his home Jhana retreat through this organization.
These are some Silicon Valley tech types who got interested in Jhanas. For a while they were trying to create a brainwave device to train folks to get there, but I think they gave up on that and just started offering both in-person and online retreats.
Yes, I have that book and recently pulled it out with the intention of re-reading it! Very synchronistic! I got to attend a weekend retreat with Namkhai Norbu in Portland in the 90’s.
No I don’t remember them doing that.
I remember him giving teachings and a lot of sitting meditation but don’t have much memory of the content of the retreat other than that. He did project a powerful presence.
It’s been years since I read it but I was thinking about reading again. I think this synchronicity is an indicator that it may be time to read it. As I recall, it’s a very good summary of Tibetan dream yoga practices.
Lots of synchronicity happening between these posts and
It is Ian Baker whilst with the Dalai Lama was given permission to photograph this wall murals inside the Secret Temple in the middle of the lake behind the Potala Palace (the Tibet home of HH)
And the book i posted here is by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
