~ Introducing the Three Words ~
Cortland Dahl
Hi everyone. This is Cort. Welcome back. In this module, we are going to move into the heart of the Dzogchen tradition. Everything we have been doing up until now really has been about the wider context of this tradition. We started out with an overview of the Dzogchen teachings and what the 30,000-foot view is of all of this. And, of course, we learned about the lineage. In the last module, we started to work on the unique preliminary practices of the Dzogchen tradition.
But here, in this module, we are going to dive in and get a very, very deep exposure to the very heart of the Dzogchen practice. The set of teachings that we have used as our reference point for the rest of the course are a very, very important set of instructions that we refer to as The Three Words or The Three Statements That Strike the Vital Point. The vital point here is, of course, the recognition of our own true nature, the recognition of rigpa or pure nondual awareness. The three statements that we are going to study and hear a lot of exposition and commentary on really help to flesh this out: What does it actually mean to recognize our true nature? How can we actually do that and make it a lived, felt experience?
It is pretty much impossible to overstate how important this particular set of teachings is for the Dzogchen tradition. For more than one thousand years, these teachings have been studied, they have been practiced, they have been passed down from generation to generation, and many of the greatest masters of this tradition have written commentaries on this. Here, in the course, we are going to read some of these commentaries. We are going to hear what Longchenpa had to say on these three points. We are going to hear what Jamgön Kongtrül wrote. Of course, we are going to be hearing from some contemporary teachers. All of this study and practice — and hopefully a deepening of experience through all of this — will
1 | DZOGCHEN | RECOGNIZE YOUR TRUE NATURE help you really gain insight into what Dzogchen is all about and what it actually means to directly recognize rigpa or pure awareness.
The teachings here are important for a few reasons. One of these reasons is historical. This was the first set of instructions that was given by the very first human master in the Dzogchen lineage, Garab Dorje. Garab Dorje passed these teachings down to his own heart student, Manjushrimitra. So, in a sense, you could consider this the first, and perhaps most important, distillation of the direct realization of pure awareness that was put into words and passed down from teacher to student. That first transmission, from Garab Dorje to Manjushrimitra, has been built upon for generations. With each link in the transmission, these teachings on The Three Statements That Strike the Vital Point have been elaborated upon, there have been commentaries written on them, and they have really formed the basis for this entire lineage for generations.
But it is not simply due to this historical moment that occurred generations ago that these instructions are still so important to this day. It is also because they capture so succinctly and so elegantly what it really means to embody Dzogchen — in other words, how we can translate the Dzogchen teachings from theory, from ideas, to an experience that we ourselves live, that we embody with every cell of our being.
From here on out, we are going to be working through this point by point. As I mentioned, we are going to be hearing about this from Longchenpa and Jamgön Kongtrül. Of course, the teachings of Mingyur Rinpoche will be helping to flesh out these teachings. But of particular importance is a commentary that was written by Patrul Rinpoche, the great nineteenth-century master whom you might know as the author of The Words of My Perfect Teacher. In our current generation, this is perhaps the most well-known, cherished, and loved commentary on The Three Statements That Strike the Vital Point. We will be studying a really excellent translation of this text that is available on Lotsawa House. That will be the basis, in many ways, for all the teachings we are going to receive.
2 | DZOGCHEN | RECOGNIZE YOUR TRUE NATURE All of these teachings, as I mentioned a moment ago, are geared to helping us recognize our own true nature. That one key point that we are trying to reach here is the pivotal point at which we recognize who we truly are, the point at which buddha nature is no longer a nice idea or a theory, but something that we directly experience for ourselves.
The way that this is laid out in these three steps, these three statements that capture this vital point, is that it all begins when this true nature is introduced to us. This is the moment at which we receive what are referred to as pointing out instructions, in which a teacher who fully embodies the realization of pure awareness him- or herself transmits that realization to us. This is not to say that we get something that we do not already have. This is not some transmission of mystical energy or anything like that.
When we say that they are transmitting their realization, what is happening is they are simply serving as the catalyst that helps us to see that that true nature that they have realized is no different than our own true nature. With these pointing out instructions that are passed down through the lineage, these are essentially experiential introductions that help us to locate and to familiarize ourselves with qualities of pure awareness. They help us to shift our perspective. This is what we call the view, such that we actually now see that for ourselves.
The first statement of The Three Words or The Three Statements That Strike the Vital Point is just the simple point of being introduced to our own true nature. From that point on, the only thing that really matters in our spiritual practice, in our journey of awakening, is to return to that recognition again and again and again. In a sense, this is utterly simple. All the complexity of the spiritual path, all the practices, and all the teachings are all distilled down into this single point of coming back to that recognition — a returning to that glimpse that we get when we receive pointing out instructions. There is really nothing else to do aside from that.
3 | DZOGCHEN | RECOGNIZE YOUR TRUE NATURE But “simple” does not mean that it is easy. Of course, we have the force of habits. We slip back into our old way of viewing ourselves and seeing the world. So the path is simply to decide on that one point.
This is the second statement — to decide directly, to come to a decisive understanding. The main point of our practice from that moment on is to return to rigpa. Over time, that process of familiarization sets in place a powerful transformation in which we start to see that every thought, every feeling, every emotion, every perception, every experience we have in relationship with other people or with the world around us, all of this, is an expression of pure nondual awareness. It is the expression of empty clarity.
This instills within us a deep sense of confidence that we can start to relate to everything that we experience through the lens of this inherent self-liberation.
This is the third statement — to gain confidence directly in liberation. You can almost view these three as a series of steps. First, we are directly introduced to our own nature. Second, we then decide on one point. Third, we gain confidence in liberation. This maps out the entire trajectory of our path in practicing and integrating the Dzogchen view, from the moment we receive that introduction to the moment at which we view everything within us and around us as the expression of pure awareness.
As you will read in the commentaries on these three statements, there is nothing more profound in this entire lineage than the teachings you are going to be receiving in these next three modules. If you were to meet the Buddha face to face, there is nothing more profound he could tell you than what you are going to hear.
Please keep this in mind as you begin to learn about this or, perhaps, if you have already been studying this for a long time, to recapture that sense of awe, of devotion, and of deep, deep respect and appreciation for how incredibly powerful, potent, and precious these teachings truly are. If you are new to the Dzogchen path, you really could not hope for a better introduction to what this is all about. If you have
4 | DZOGCHEN | RECOGNIZE YOUR TRUE NATURE been at this for a while, again, this is a great opportunity to come back to the key points of Dzogchen practice.
Wherever you are on the path, hopefully this will give you some inspiration, some clarity, and some energy to continue on with your own personal journey. As always, we really look forward to hearing from you in the weeks and months to come. This is going to be a really exciting part of this course. We hope you get a lot out of these teachings. Good luck with your practice.
5 | DZOGCHEN | RECOGNIZE YOUR TRUE NATURE