A Bit of Background
The instructions below were adapted from Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’s book for initiates only, An Introduction to the Practice of Contemplation (2002), which was compiled from talks Norbu gave in 1980 (in Italian), along with commentary by the editor, Costantino Albini.
Namkhai Norbu arrived in Italy in 1960 at the invitation of Giuseppe Tucci, professor of Tibetology and Orientalism in Rome, whom Norbu subsequently helped to catalogue the professor’s institute’s extensive collection of Tibetan texts.
By 1962, Norbu himself secured a post as professor of Tibetan language and literature at the Oriental University of Naples, a post he kept for 30 years. In the 1970s he also began teaching Tibetan yoga and meditation, married an Italian woman, and they had a son and daughter. In the early 1980s, Norbu and his students founded the original International Dzogchen Community center in Arcidosso (Italy), as well as a publishing company, Shang Shung Edizioni, together intended to spread the Master’s knowledge both in person and through books.
Born in Tibet in December 1938, Norbu remained in Italy for the rest of his life, where he passed away in September 2018, aged 79. In 2021, Norbu’s son, Namkhai Yeshe, picked up his father’s mantle to lead the International Dzogchen Community, which continues to thrive all over the world, with major centers on every continent.
A Nearly Lost Tradition
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu received the finest monastic education available at that time (1940s and ’50s Tibet). He began his studies, aged 4, at the Gonchen Monastery in Kham, Eastern Tibet — next to the palace and at the invitation of the king of the former Kingdom of Derge. A very clever boy, he excelled in all his studies and also traveled to religious centers throughout Tibet, India, Nepal and Bhutan. Always fond of traveling and meeting people, in 1954 and ’55 he taught Tibetan language in Chengdu, China, at the invitation of the Chinese government.
In 1959, Tibet lost its national and territorial sovereignty to Communist China — a condition that has endured ever since. Norbu was in Sikkim at the time, but his whole family was imprisoned, and his father, brother and uncles died in prison. Even His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet on horseback, and afterwards established a government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, where it still exists today.
The brief history given above is intended to emphasize that Chögyal Namkhai Norbu was one-of-a-kind — a sort of “high-powered mutant never even considered for mass production.” Not only was he utterly unique as an individual, but the very milieu that produced him — a network of monastic universities within a traditional theocracy, stretching back millennia, with a Dalai Lama as its ruler — is lost forever. There will never be another Namkhai Norbu — nor is any other teacher alive today as qualified as he was to impart the authentic Dzogchen tradition. We are very grateful to that peerless Master for sharing these precious teachings with the world. Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha!
A Complete Method
As secret as the text below may be, it’s still a very basic introduction to a practice anyone can do, and it was intended, according to its authors, as a “guidebook for easy reference.” Moreover, only the practice of fixing the attention is given below — marking the merest beginning of Dzogchen practice.1 At the same time, the method described below is the beginning and also the end of Dzogchen practice, because if a person is able to abide in the state of pure presence (Shiné), there is nothing more to achieve. Therefore, the “practice of contemplation” below comprises a “complete method.”
Instructions for Dzogchen Meditation (“Contemplation”)
The Dzogchen practice of contemplation is found in the Semde, the Series on the Nature of Mind, and the first exercise with which to begin is called fixation. Fixation must developed through constant practice. The method comprises four aspects.
1. Body Posture
When you first learn to practice fixation you should seek to remain still in a steady posture. An ideal posture is the following: Sit with legs crossed, hands on your knees, tongue resting on the palate, eyes, lips and teeth naturally relaxed, back straight as an arrow, chest and shoulders open, and the whole body relaxed and controlled at the same time. If that posture is difficult to maintain, remember only indispensable features of keeping the back straight and the body under control.
The tongue should touch the palate; this disposition is symbolically called “union of the water element and the fire element,” [and it closes one of the gaps in the energetic circuit of the body; the other one is located between the pubic bone and the sphincter. The easiest and most natural way to “rest the tongue” on the upper palate is simply to close the mouth and then gently suck and swallow some of the saliva out of it, thereby creating a small vacuum which keeps the mouth closed and the tongue pressed to the palate. Don’t overdo the vacuum, whose purpose is precisely to eliminate the need for muscular contraction and thus keep the jaw and tongue relaxed. You will know if the circuit is complete because the increased current will cause immediate and noticeable increased salivation; continue swallowing the saliva, which in Chinese qigong and neigong is considered a very beneficial “elixir.”]
2. Breathing
Before practicing you should perform a series of nine purification breaths, as follows:
1.) Inhale through both nostrils, then block your right nostril with the tips of the middle and ring fingers of your right hand and exhale from your left nostril.
2.) Inhale again through both nostrils, and with your left hand block your left nostril and exhale through your right nostril.
3.) Keep alternating in this way until you have performed three exhalations on the left and three exhalations on the right side.
4.) For the last three breaths, inhale deeply through both nostrils and exhale completely from both nostrils, bending forward as if to touch the ground with your forehead.
[The purpose of the forward bend is to expel as much old, “stale” air from the bottom of the lungs as possible, where CO2 tends to collect. Since normal breathing only uses 40-50% of lung capacity, some air always stagnates in the lungs and doesn’t get fully expelled.]
5.) The description of the nine breaths given above is for males; females should do it in reverse, starting with the left hand and exhaling through the right nostril. The rest is the same: three exhalations alternating on each side, followed by three full, deep breaths using both nostrils.
This breathing practice clears and focuses the mind, relaxes the body, and mentally prepares the practitioner to enter into formal practice.
During the actual meditation session, the breathing should be left to its regular, natural rhythm, deep if possible, but relaxed and not controlled by the will.
3. The Gaze
The eyes must remain open, and the gaze must be fixed.2
When practicing fixation, the eyes are not closed. That’s because in Dzogchen teaching it’s said that the eyes are the “doors of wisdom” and wisdom arises through the vision, through the eyes. So the eyes are not kept closed.
In order to start practicing fixation, you need a point on which to fix your gaze. This point can be the Tibetan letter A. It’s not so important for the letter A to be from the Tibetan alphabet — it could be a Sanskrit A, a Western A, or any A. Fix your gaze on the A.
4. The Mind and How to Direct It
There are two ways to practice fixation: “with an object” and “without an object.”
Fixation with an Object
The aim of fixation with an object is to discover the state of mental calm and to become accustomed to it. And the best way to train fixation is with the letter A.
Why the letter A? In other traditions various objects are used to fix one’s gaze, such as a candle flame, a sacred image, or a blue flower, but in Dzogchen teaching, the letter A is most used. There are many reasons for this. The A is used as the principal symbol of the primordial state of consciousness, because A is a neutral sound that “rules” or “generates” all other sounds. When you practice pronouncing A with your voice, then your mind, breath and gaze converge on the A.
It’s important that throughout the practice of fixation all the senses should be present. Even when a practitioner is fixing very sharply and not actively “attending” to all that’s happening around him, everything should be clearly present to his sense perception. Otherwise it means he has strayed from fixation, sliding into a state of torpor.
Training in fixation to find the state where no thoughts are present, called nepa in Tibetan. The goal of fixation with an object is to become able to govern the state of nepa. In the beginning it’s advisable not to practice too long. It’s better to start with short sessions, two or three minutes at the most, then take a short break, maybe do some deep breathing, then resume, in this way alternating training and relaxation.
Paying attention to the simple act of fixation, thoughts disappear. Practice by “staring” at an object as if you want to pierce it, concentrating all your attention on that object. This is also called “triangular fixation”: two points are the eyes and the third point is the object, forming a triangle. All our thoughts, all our confusions are contained in the space between the two angles of the eyes, and we now concentrate them as much as we can, forcing them all to converge onto a single point, on the object on which we are fixing our gaze.
Concentrating all our attention in this way, our thoughts block themselves; but take care that you don’t think they no longer exist, that they have been destroyed: they do not arise simply because they are blocked by focused attention. In general, as soon as your attention is relaxed thoughts arise again; if you fix more sharply, they disappear.
Practicing fixation by this method, do not follow thoughts or try to stop them. In fact, there is nothing you need to do with your thoughts! All you have to do is to fix your gaze quite intensely on the letter A. At times it may occur that immediately after the extinction of a thought others do not automatically follow it, but we are able instead to recognise a “space,” a gap where there are no thoughts. This is the effect that ensues from fixing the gaze on an object sharply enough.
On the other hand, if you’re fixing too sharply, you may experience changes in your perception or distortions of the letter A. Maybe as you stare at it the white A appears yellow or black, or turns into a face or a mask, or becomes gigantic, or disappears, or turns into moving flames. It can also turn into many other things. When the object on which you’re fixing your gaze seems to transform before your eyes, that means you’re fixing too sharply. It doesn’t mean that you’re beholding some miracle, it simply means that your fixation is too intense and you should relax it a bit.
Sometimes it may also happen that when you’re practicing, you experience a sense of sleepiness. This is a symptom of lack of attention, in which case it’s necessary to engage in fixation more vigilantly. Sleepiness happens fairly often, and if you can’t shake it off by engaging a sharper and more wakeful attention, then it’s useful to do some breathing exercises or get up and move around, maybe do some stretching.
To practice fixation it’s useful to keep your eyes still, without blinking too often, and not let your gaze wander left or right. It’s also useful to remain as still as possible, otherwise it will difficult to find the calm state without thoughts.
If after starting the practice more and more difficulties and disturbances arise and give no sign of abating, then it’s advisable to continue engaging in fixation with an object. If nevertheless the problem persists, you can add sound to your fixation. Firmly fixing your gaze on the letter A, pronounce its sound: A … A … A … It’s very useful for a practitioner who finds it difficult to abide in the calm state to pronounce the sound A while fixing the gaze on the A. In this way, everything, including the breath, converges on the A. Automatically the letter is associated with the sound and your attention and intention are directed there. Your inner and outer condition will become more harmonious, so that you can gain control over the state of nepa.
If you begin to succeed in entering that state, such that as soon as you sit down you already enter the state free of thoughts, undistracted and with your senses present, then it may be time to engage in fixation without an object. If you notice that maintaining undistracted relaxed presence seems difficult at the beginning, but if you continue for a few moments everything spontaneously becomes easier, then this may be repeated in other practice sessions. If it always recurs, it means that it’s not necessary to continue with fixation on an object. If at the beginning you’re disturbed and then spontaneously calm down, you can practice fixation without an object.
Fixation without an Object
A practitioner who is able to abide thus, that is without being disturbed by thoughts and without following them, as if the presence or absence of thoughts was completely irrelevant, can start to practice fixation without an object. The aim of fixation without an object is to become familiar with another important natural function of the mind, the movement of thoughts, but without being distracted by it.
Fix your gaze on any point in the space in front of you. When you start to practice fixation without an object, you should direct your attention in the same way as when you started fixing on the object. For this practice the letter A is no longer used, nor any other object as support; instead you fix your gaze in the empty space in front of you, always keeping gaze, mind and breath united, in the same way as when you were fixing on the letter A. There is no longer a support for your gaze, a “target” to aim at, but you must act as if there were in order to prevent a sudden and spontaneous proliferation of thoughts.
At the beginning of this phase it is important not to relax the attention too much, or the body posture; everything should be well controlled. As the mental tension is gradually relaxed, control of the body and the breath also relax; and as all your tensions relax, thoughts start to arise again. Why do thoughts arise more abundantly at the beginning of practice without an object? Because concentrating the fixation acutely on the object causes thoughts to stop by themselves, automatically. Whereas now, in the absence of this support, the fixation “relaxes” and naturally the occurrence of thoughts intensifies.
It may happen that, noticing the greater flow of moving thoughts, you may feel disturbed and think your meditation is getting worse. Usually we’re very conditioned to think that “meditation” means being in a state of calm, of quietude that excludes all movement. But now our comfortable state of calm begins to be disturbed again by a swarm of thoughts that spring forth without reason! When this happens, don’t worry — you should be in the state of movement itself! When thoughts arise, don’t try to block them — instead try to be present in the very thought that arises.
This is the way to continue developing your practice. When thoughts come, observe them without judging or following them — instead try to be present in the thoughts. We aren’t accustomed to abiding naturally in a state of presence; usually we live in a state of restlessness and confusion. When we only do fixation with an object, thoughts are hidden because our fixation blocks them. But then when there’s no longer this support and the movement increases, it seems we are disturbed again, that we have relapsed into confusion. In fact we haven’t regressed at all, and there’s no need to worry — now we are learning to be able to observe the movement itself. This is a method for discovering what is the actual condition of that movement.
Why do more thoughts arise at this time? Because our body and breath are more relaxed, and when everything is more relaxed, thoughts are more exposed. So now we’re just recognizing the presence of thoughts that previously we were unable to notice. When we’re in a relaxed state that by nature is more limpid and clear, we have the impression that thoughts arise in greater numbers — in truth they have not increased, they’re simply more visible.
Learning in this way to remain in relaxed presence, at a certain moment you find yourself in a state in which even though more or less thoughts continue to arise, they do not disturb your presence and they vanish by themselves. That is, they self-liberate, because this state is not conditioned by the habitual continuity of judgement.
When you have presence, then every thought that arises liberates itself, like a wave arising in the sea and disappearing in the sea, or like a snake loosening its own knots. At times a snake will wind itself into knots, making a tangle so complicated as to seem inextricable to an observer. But the snake has no need of our help — if we stand by and watch, we’ll see that at just the right time the snake knows how to loosen itself with the greatest ease. The same applies to thoughts — if we observe them, without pursuing, without intervening, they liberate themselves.
[Reaching the state where thoughts self-liberate is the very purpose of fixation without an object.]
The State of Pure Presence
[In this section we finally introduce some technical terms (in fact some traditional names), which we have hereto studiously avoided doing in order to keep the reader focused and entertained. But the terms only help to illustrate a conception of the state of presence — they have nothing to do with the state itself. Think of them as a diagram — a pyramid, maybe — an image to illustrate holding three states of mind at the same time. This isn’t a technical manual — the instructions should feel natural and comprehensible.]
Eventually, you will be able to start to relax your attention too. If you gradually relax your attention more and more, you’ll clearly notice that the “calm state” — which we encountered doing fixation with an object — and “movement” — meaning the arising of thoughts — coexist simultaneously. This is what is called rigpa (rgs-pa) — the recognition of pure presence. Presence can be recognized above all in the condition where there are thoughts, that is, in the condition of “movement.” The clear and distinct presence of these two states, the calm state and the state in which something moves, is called rigpa.
In the state where thoughts self-liberate, what becomes particularly evident is pure presence — rigpa, nondual awareness — and discernible within it are three distinct fundamental elements (anachronized as ne-gyu-rig):
1) Nepa, the calm state, still like a sheet of water;
2) Gyuwa, the movement of thoughts, like waves on the water or fish jumping out of it;
3) Rigpa, the recognition of the presence of these waves.
These three elements are all present simultaneously in the same condition of ne-gyu-rig. In this state there is nothing to seek and nothing to relinquish. Once you finally find yourself in the state of union of ne-gyu-rig and continue in this presence, then you understand that this is the authentic state of Shiné (pure presence).
A practitioner should not stray into judgement, but instead, remaining in the state of presence, see arising thoughts as fish leaping from the surface of the sea, or perceive this state as an ocean in which both characteristics are evident. You should not make a distinction between the two aspects, or deem one a good state and the other a state of disturbance. Rather, you should seek to be present: if there is calm, remain present in the state of calm; if “the fish leaps,” seek to be present in that very movement, in the “leap” of the fish. The practitioner must seek to be “in” the leap itself, in the movement.
This means that now you no longer need to concentrate your attention as much as possible (as in the practice with the letter A). Instead, conversely, relaxing more and more you come to discover that the state of the “leap of the fish” and the state of calm are present at the same time. You should gradually relax the attention more and more — if you don’t relax, this perception of simultaneity will not occur any more.
Reaching Stable Shiné and Developing It Further
To sum up, fixation on the object must be very sharp at the start, then, gradually, must be relaxed until the right level is found; this is the way to reach the practice of true Shiné without an object. Practicing in this way we can attain the state of
Shiné, that subsequently must become stable Shiné — meaning a condition that is not disturbed whether thoughts are present or not.
As our practice develops more and more, often this state arises by itself, spontaneously. It is no longer necessary to strive to maintain the posture and the fixation, or continuously to seek this state. When I have the presence of awareness, then whatever posture I am in, I am in the state of Shiné. When this comes about, it is called “natural Shiné.”
The way to develop your practice still further from this intermediate level consists in the gradual integration of movements, that is, to begin to be able to hold the state of Shiné while moving around, talking or singing, reasoning, or even reading. You must continue in this way until, while walking or doing anything, with the presence of awareness effortlessly you are in the state of Shiné, without needing to strive to seek it or anyway to produce it. If at that moment you are not disturbed by thoughts or by movements or by any external circumstance, however chaotic it may be, then you can say that your Shiné is stable.
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1 In my opinion, and judging from the states they are meant to induce, the “fixation with an object” and “fixation without an object” meditations are somewhat akin to the first two states of traditional Buddhist meditation: shamatha (calm abiding) and vipassana (mindfulness). The major difference is that in Dzogchen the eyes are kept open.
2 See also verse 113, method 88 of the Vigyan Bhairav: “Listen to the entire mystical teaching imparted: Eyes still, without blinking, at once become absolutely free.” Dzogchen contemplation proves that the Vigyan Bhairav is not just a collection of random sayings, or poetic aphorisms — in fact, each of them can be developed into a fruitful practice.