PUBLICATIONS

Kün-zang La-may Zhal-lung:
The Oral Instruction of Kün-zang La-ma
on the Preliminary Practices of Dzog-ch'en
Long-ch'en Nying-tig

Transcribed by Pal-trül Rin-po-ch'e, Preface by
Cha-tral Sang-gay Rin-po-ch'e, Translated & Edited
by Sonam T. Kazi

PART ONE: The Common Outer Preliminaries
(Part One, published in 1989, is Volume IV of the Nga-gyur
   Nying-may Sung-rab English Translation Series)

PART TWO & PART THREE: The Unique Inner Preliminaries
   and the Instruction on P’o-wa
(Part Two & Part Three, published in 1991 and reprinted in 2013, are Volume V
   of the series)

The Common Outer and Unique Inner Preliminaries of Long-ch'en Nying-tig
Dzog-pa Ch'en-po are composed of the most essential practices, and should not be viewed as preliminaries in the general sense.

Detailed Descriptions of the two volumes:

PART ONE

Part One, the Common Outer Preliminary, contains chapters on the following topics:

1. The Difficulty of Obtaining a Well-endowed Human Body
       That Has Leisure
2. The Impermanence of Life
3. The Misery of Samsara
4. The Cause and Effect of Karma
5. The Benefit of Attaining Freedom from Worldly Miseries
6. Following a Spiritual Teacher

     If thoroughly understood from the core of our heart, these chapters provide the precious wisdom that enables us to dissolve our ignorant attachment to phenomenal existence, and the wisdom to look for the eternal liberation that is innate in us.

PART TWO & PART THREE

     Part Two, the Unique Inner Preliminary, contains the preparatory practices that lay the foundation for the profound Vajrayana means that lead ultimately to the understanding of Dzog-ch'en. This being the highest state of the Mind, we have to be extremely careful in building the foundation for our sure success. Without this, our attempt to attain Dzog-ch'en is like jumping hopefully in the air to catch the moon.

     Part Two teaches the following six profound Vajrayana techniques that instantaneously transmute one's coarse body, speech, and mind into the highest eternal body, speech, and mind of Buddhahood:

1. Taking Refuge
2. The Development of the Supreme Bodhicitta
3. The Visualization and Mantra of Guru Vajrasattva
4. The Mandala
5. The Simultaneous Destruction of the Four Maras:
      The Pauper's Method of Earning Merit
6. The Guru Yoga

     The first chapter, “Taking Refuge,” shows how to take refuge in the never-failing Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, which essentially refers to the realization of one's Primordial Mind. The second chapter, “The Development of the Supreme Bodhicitta,” teaches how to transcend the egoistic mind by developing the Supreme Bodhicitta—the profound, compassionate motivation to bring present happiness and the ultimate realization of Buddhahood to all sentient beings. These two chapters contain the fundamental prerequisites that have the alchemic power to change the base, ignorant mind into the most valuable Buddha Mind. The remaining four practices, contained in the four chapters that follow, are transcendent means for removing untoward obstacles towards this end.

     Part Three contains instructions on p'o-wa, the method of transferring one's own or another's consciousness to a higher level. This shortcut method should only be practiced under the close guidance of a realized Guru.

     As the success of the techniques taught in Kün-zang La-may Zhal-lung depends, among other things, on one's correct meditation and visualization, an appendix of line drawings containing some important letters and figures connected with the visualizations has been provided as a guide at the back of the second volume. A second appendix provides notes on a few Tibetan terms that may require careful consideration for beginners. Important notes on xylographic errors and omissions in the main text that have hitherto been overlooked and which deserve special attention by the reader are also included.