THE MIRROR Newspaper of the International Dzogchen Community JAN/FEB 2007 • Issue No. 84 NEW GAR IN ROMANIA MERIGAR EAST SUMMER RETREAT WITH CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBU RETREAT OF ZHINE AND LHAGTHONG ACCORDING TO ATIYOGA JULY 14-22, 2007 There is a new Gar in Romania called Merigar East. The land is 4.5 hectares and 600 meters from the Black Sea. The Gar is 250 meters from a main road and 2 kilometers from the nearest village called the 23rd of August (the day of liberation in World War II); it is a 5-minute walk to the train station and a 10-minute walk to the beach. There are small, less costly hotels and pensions and five star hotels in tourist towns and small cities near by. There is access by bus, train and airplane. Inexpensive buses go up and down the coast. There is an airport in Costanza, 1/2 hour from the land, and the capital, Bucharest, 200 kilometers away, offers two international airports. At present we have only the land, but it will be developed. As of January 2007 Romania has joined the European Union. Mark your calendar! The Mirror Staff Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in the Tashigar South Gonpa on his birthday N ZEITZ TO BE IN INSTANT PRESENCE IS TO BE BEYOND TIME The Longsal Ati’i Gongpa Ngotrod In this latest retreat, which was through an intellectual analysis of CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBU Retreat at Tashigar South, Argentina transmitted all around the world by these four, but from a deep under- SCHEDULE December 26, 2006 - January 1, 2007 closed video and audio webcast, standing of the real characteristics thanks to the great efforts and work of our human existence. MARCH 2007 - FEBRUARY 2008 by Sergio Oliva done by the webcast team, On the following day, Rinpoche Translated by Laura Yoffe Rinpoche gave transmission of the explained that we do not have the 2007: teachings called “Longsal Ati’i possibility to enter into our real Tashigar Norte, Margarita Island, Venezuela ecember 2006. Summertime Gongpa Ngotrod”, the Upadesha of nature if we do not have transmis- March 30 – April 5 is coming very soon, but the the Introduction to the State of Ati. sion and that there are three types of Santi Maha Sangha Base Teaching Retreat rain (as it always happens in Rinpoche discovered these teach- transmission according to our three Open Webcast D Tashigar South) waits for the Mas- ings in many different dreams he gates of body, speech and mind. ter. Then the water flows every- had from the year 1972 to the year Entering into the Longsal May 31 – June 15 where and life turns to be more 1983. They belong to the Cycle of Teachings, Rinpoche remarked the Jñanadhakini Drubchen Retreat intense. With the presence of Rin- Longsal Teachings of Chögyal importance of the lineage and the poche not even the stones remain Namkhai Norbu. transmission for the teaching. When June 20 quiet, all is in movement now. On the first day of the retreat, Rinpoche made a commentary of Leave for Merigar West, Italy The small Gonpa at the main house Rinpoche spoke about the impor- the first verses of the Root Text, he has multiple functions: it is a play- tance of being aware of our real sit- said that many people go after intel- June 29 ing room for long games of uation - the condition of suffering of lectual knowledge by judging and Leave for Merigar East, Romania Bagchen with Rinpoche, during the samsara - as being dominated by our analyzing yet staying totally condi- retreat it becomes the “Tashishop” emotions we don’t recognize the tioned by their mind; for that reason July 14 - 22 (our bookstore) and for many nights base of suffering that is underneath they are very unfortunate because Merigar East Retreat it looks like a kind of cyber- place all of our actions. Little by little, the they are so far from following a path Retreat of Shine and Lhagthong according to Dzogchen Atiyoga where people adopt strange postures problems develop and finally suffer- that allows to have a quick realiza- Restricted Webcast with their laptops trying to get the ing manifests. For that reason, tion. Therefore, it is extremely best signal. Rinpoche said, it is necessary to important the connection between July 27 For some time Tashigar becomes a have consciousness of the Four teacher and student, in order to be Return to Merigar West kind of Babel that concentrates all Mindfulnesses about our precious able to follow a path in a correct kinds of sounds from the most dis- human life, the impermanence of way. So first of all we need to August 10 - 30 tant places. All the variety of lan- our life that manifests in time, the understand this relationship. Personal retreat of Mandarava guages that sounds everywhere karma that we produce due to our Developing this topic, Rinpoche reveals how much effort our actions and the suffering of samsara said that the teacher needs to have a September 7-13 Teacher has put in spreading his as consequence of our own karma, perfect transmission and knowledge Merigar West Retreat precious teachings during all these although this presence cannot arise of the real meaning of the teaching, The teaching will be Paltrul Rinpoche’s Dzogchen Man ngag ‘Odsal years. from the knowledge that we can get not only in an intellectual way, but Nangcha (The Upadesha on the Vision of Clear Light), [Paltrul Kabum Vol 4 P.697]. continued on page19 Restricted Webcast CONTENTS September 21 Leave for Barcelona ASIA: An Expatriate in Amdo page 5 September 24 – 28 Barcelona Retreat The teaching will be Longchenpa’s Nyingtam Sumchu (Thirty Pieces of Advice from the Heart) [Sung Thorbu vol. I P. 354]. Open Webcast September 30 Leave for Sao Paolo, Brazil October 3 – 9 Fire Boar Year 2007 Sao Paolo Retreat Teaching, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Special Practice Calendar The teaching will be Paltrul Rinpoche’s Shri Gyalpo Khyadchos (The Three pages 2 &3 pages 10 & 11 Lines Which Strike the Essence, The Three Statements of Garab Dorje) continued on page 4 Chögyal Namkhai Norbu erry Christmas and Happy Sutra and Tantra, for example, with a the cause is through the effect. We New Year to everybody! example, and within fish, you see how apply a different way of doing MToday we are beginning Sutra there is they taste some- something, then there is a possibili- our retreat at Tashigar South in Mahayana and thing and then ty to change or modify. Buddha said Argentina. All our activity at a Hinayana. Buddha someone catches that what we did in a past life we retreat is related to the Dzogchen never divided the them. For touch, can examine in this life. This life is Teaching. We have different series teachings into with our body, we an effect of a cause we made in the of teachings within the Dzogchen Mahayana and give the example past life. For that reason, you can Teaching, all of which are related to Hinayana. Buddha of elephants. see that even though we are all the transmission. The most impor- taught the teaching When the ele- human beings, if there are ten peo- tant aspect of the teaching is the for the individual to phants feel very ple, there are ten different condi- transmission, but firstly you need to discover his or her hot they go into tions. We have different classes, dif- have a clear idea what Dzogchen real condition. mud and sleep ferent families, etc. Sometimes means. Many people have the idea Buddha didn’t teach there and then the there are twins in the same family that the teaching is a kind of tradi- to form a school or old elephants get and when they grow up, their lives tion, school or religion. You can religion; that was not stuck in the mud are totally different. Even if the believe that Dzogchen is a philoso- his aim. Buddha’s and die. In gener- cause is something similar, the sec- phy or religion because in the aim was that every- al we enjoy with ondary cause is related with effect. Dzogchen Teaching there is no limi- one would be able to five senses; we The primary cause we have for tation, but Dzogchen is not that in discover his or her become attached becoming human, for example, if the real sense. The Dzogchen Teach- real nature through and blind with someone is born in Tibet, someone ing is to learn how to get beyond lim- the teaching. Why emotion and in the West, someone in Africa, is itations. If we have any kind of limi- don’t we discover small pleasure completely different. In the Western tation it is no longer Dzogchen, but it our real nature in and suffer a lot. world, small children play with not so easy to go beyond limitations. that way? We don’t We have so many many small objects and toys from We live in a dualistic condition. discover in that way of these kinds of birth. When I grew up in Tibet and I Everything is limited in our society because everyone sufferings. That is was a small boy, I never had any- and our condition. There is no way lives in dualistic why we say trans- thing to play with. So that is the dif- to live beyond limitations. If there is vision and has so migration is just a ference, the condition of the econo- a kind of limitation, there is a reason. many limitations. dimension of suf- my and situation.