The Dzogchen Primer: An Anthology of Writings by Masters of the Great Perfection

by Marcia Schmidt

The Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice known as Dzogchen (pronounced ZOG-chen) is a practical method for accessing the pristine, clear awareness that lies beneath the chatter and confusion of our daily thoughts. The Dzogchen Primer provides the keys for understanding Dzogchen and putting it into practice. Marcia Schmidt, a long-time Buddhist practitioner, has gathered here the most accessible, down-to-earth writings published on this subject and has organized them into a study guide for the serious beginner on the Buddhist path. The collection includes writings from such well-known and venerable masters as Milarepa, Padmasambhava, Shantideva, Chögyam Trungpa, and Tulku Urgyen. The concept of Dzogchen is said to lie beyond the confines of our beliefs, our intellectual constructs, our ordinary understanding. A Dzogchen master writes, "We need to dismantle our fixation on the permanence of what we experience. A normal person clings to his experiences as being 'real,' concrete, and permanent. But if we look closely at what happens, experience is simply experience, and it is not made out of anything. It has no form, no sound, no color, no taste, no texture; it is simply empty cognizance." The Dzogchen Primer includes an informative editor's preface as well as two forewords by prominent Tibetan masters that provide fundamental background information that will be helpful to readers new to this subject. The book also includes short, descriptive guiding notes intended to assist both independent students and teachers leading workshops.

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2013

Reviews

[David Williams]

As a Zen Buddhist practitioner, I found the book helpful and would recommend it for any Zen Buddhist student. However, it was heavy enough on Tibetan Buddhist terminology, thought, and practices with some repetition that I was not able to understand some parts of the book and/or did not find it helpful, so I paged through these sections to the next fruitful part. Zen Buddhism's reliance on koans as a teaching tool is helpful, but comparatively I think I get more out of the Tibetan method of teaching as long as it does not delve into the tantric practices which this book sometimes did. I bought this book as part of my Zen Buddhist practice to better understand Dzogchen. And thanks to this book I did.

[Anthony Francavilla]

A guide to a life long project.

A great starting point for developing a Buddhist practice with information on how to find a teacher, explanations of the beginning teachings and further reading.

[Katie]

Read as part of a weekly group. Learned a lot from the book and the group.