Menngagde
Encyclopedia
In Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Menngagde (Wylie
: man ngag sde, Tib. མན་ངག་སྡེ; THDL phonetics
: men-ngak-dé) , (Sanskrit: upadeshavarga), is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Dzogchen
, (Skt. Atiyoga, Great Perfection) teachings. Dzogchen is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma
school of Tibetan Buddhism. Menngagde focuses on the practices in which one engages after gaining confidence in knowledge of the state of wisdom (Tib.rigpa
), emphasizing the inseparability of space and mind from the very beginning (dbyer-med). It is this inseparability that fundamentally characterizes the Dzogchen view. Menngagde is also variously glossed as "Secret oral instruction division", "Secret oral instruction series," "Secret oral school", or "Quintessential Instructions Series", or "The Category of Direct Transmission".
-like formless meditation
s and Nyingthik/Menngagde:
(Wylie: sems sde), Longde
(Wylie: klong sde), and Menngagde. Mañjushrīmītra’s student Shri simha
re-edited the oral instruction class/cycle, and in this form the teaching was transmitted to Jñānasūtra and Vimalamitra
. Vimalamitra is said to have taken the Menngagde teachings to Tibet
in the 8th Century.
The Glossary for Rangjung Yeshe books (2004) described Menngagde as:
The available Menngagde texts are all terma
, attributed to Padmasambhava
's lineage of the Heart's Drop (sNying-thig) cycle of teachings and practice.
The three series do not represent different schools of Dzogchen practice as much as different approaches. As is common throughout much Buddhist literature, Tibetan Buddhism in particular, the divisions are sometimes said to represent gradations in the faculties of the students for whom the practices are appropriate; practitioners of low, middling, and high faculties, respectively.
and Kadag Trekchö
. Tsoknyi Rinpoche explains:
Another feature of the Menngagde is the sadhana
of the "Seven Mind Trainings" (Lojong dön dünma, Wylie: blo-sbyong don-bdun-ma) Capriles (2003: p. 103) identifies the sadhana
of the 'Seven Lojong' (Wylie: blo-sbyong don-bdun-ma). As Buddhist scholar Elias Capriles, notes,
Variations of the name of the fourth section include the Secret Heart Essence (gsang ba snying thig), the Most Secret Unexcelled Nyingtig (yang gsang bla na med pa snying tig), the Innermost Unexcelled Cycle of Nyingtig (yang gsang bla na med pa'i snying thig skor), the Most Secret and Unexcelled Great Perfection (yang gsang bla na med pa rdzogs pa chen po), the Most Secret Heart Essence (yang gsang snying thig), the Most Secret Unsurpassable Cycle (yang gsang bla na med pa'i sde) and the Vajra Heart Essence.
, although there are eighteen when the Ngagsung Tromay Tantra (focused on protective rites of Ekajati
) is added; and nineteen including the Longsel Barwey Tantra (Tantra of the Blazing Space of Luminosity).http://www.yoniversum.nl/dakini/tantras17.html
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Wylie transliteration
The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959...
: man ngag sde, Tib. མན་ངག་སྡེ; THDL phonetics
THDL Simplified Phonetic Transcription
The THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription of Standard Tibetan is a system for the phonetic rendering of the Tibetan language.It was created by David Germano and Nicolas Tournadre and was published on 2003-12-12...
: men-ngak-dé) , (Sanskrit: upadeshavarga), is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Dzogchen
Dzogchen
According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
, (Skt. Atiyoga, Great Perfection) teachings. Dzogchen is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
school of Tibetan Buddhism. Menngagde focuses on the practices in which one engages after gaining confidence in knowledge of the state of wisdom (Tib.rigpa
Rigpa
Rigpa is the knowledge that ensues from recognizing one's nature i.e. one knows that there is a primordial freedom from grasping his or her mind . The opposite of rigpa is marigpa ....
), emphasizing the inseparability of space and mind from the very beginning (dbyer-med). It is this inseparability that fundamentally characterizes the Dzogchen view. Menngagde is also variously glossed as "Secret oral instruction division", "Secret oral instruction series," "Secret oral school", or "Quintessential Instructions Series", or "The Category of Direct Transmission".
Practice
For general purposes, Menngagde may also be known as Nyingthik. Germano & Gyatso (2000: p. 240) note a similarity of practice between ChanZen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
-like formless meditation
Arupajhana
In Buddhism, the arūpajhānas or "formless meditations" are four successive levels of meditation on non-material objects. These levels are higher than the rūpajhānas, and harder to attain...
s and Nyingthik/Menngagde:
"...the Seminal Heart or Nyingthik (snying thig) form of the Great Perfection (rdzogs-chen) movement, ...a syncretic Tantric tradition consisting of Chan-like practices of formless meditation combined with exercises that cultivated spontaneous visions of buddhas."
Menngagde in the Dzogchen textual tradition
Traditionally, Mañjushrīmītra (Tib. jam dpal bshes gnyen) is said to have classified all the Dzogchen teachings transmitted by his teacher Prahevajra (Tib. Garab Dorje) into three series: SemdeSemde
Semde translated as "mind division", "mind class" or "mind series" is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga, Dzogchen or the Great Perfection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan...
(Wylie: sems sde), Longde
Longde
Longde is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Atiyoga, also known as Dzogchen or the Great Perfection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.The name Longde is translated as 'Space Division' or 'Space...
(Wylie: klong sde), and Menngagde. Mañjushrīmītra’s student Shri simha
Sri Singha
Shri Singha was a principal disciple and dharma-son of Manjushrimitra in the Dzogchen lineage.Vajranatha contextualises Sri Singha in relation to the Nyingma, Manjushrimitra, Tantra, Brahman, Garab Dorje, Uddiyana, Vimalamitra, Samye and Yogachara:According to the Nyingmapa tradition of Tibetan...
re-edited the oral instruction class/cycle, and in this form the teaching was transmitted to Jñānasūtra and Vimalamitra
Vimalamitra
Vimalamitra ), an 8th century Indian adept, is key to the history of Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen practice. He lived equally in China, Oddiyana and Tibet, but was known as the "Sage of Kashmir". According to tradition, he was born in Western India and travelled to China to become a disciple of Shri...
. Vimalamitra is said to have taken the Menngagde teachings to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
in the 8th Century.
The Glossary for Rangjung Yeshe books (2004) described Menngagde as:
The third of the Three Sections of Dzogchen, as arranged by Manjushrimitra. In Tibet three lineages are represented: through Padmasambhava and Vairotsana who both received transmission from Shri Singha, and through Vimalamitra who received transmission partly from Shri Singha and partly from Jnanasutra. The two former lineages were continued only as termas while Vimalamitra's was passed on both as terma and as oral transmission. In the following millennium, innumerable termas have been revealed containing the precious instructions of these three great masters. The most important of these terma treasures are included in the Rinchen Terdzo, a collection of termas by Jamgon KongtrulJamgon KongtrulJamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers , primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations , to date....
covering the Three Inner Tantras and in Nyingtig Yabzhi.
The available Menngagde texts are all terma
Terma (religion)
Terma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a...
, attributed to Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
's lineage of the Heart's Drop (sNying-thig) cycle of teachings and practice.
The three series do not represent different schools of Dzogchen practice as much as different approaches. As is common throughout much Buddhist literature, Tibetan Buddhism in particular, the divisions are sometimes said to represent gradations in the faculties of the students for whom the practices are appropriate; practitioners of low, middling, and high faculties, respectively.
Distinguishing Features of the Menngagde (Oral Instruction Series)
The distinguishing features of Menngagde are the practices of Lhündrub TögalLhündrub Tögal
Lhündrub Tögal is a Dzogchen term and practice which holds the semantic field "leaping over", "direct crossing" and "direct approach". The Menngagde or 'Instruction Class' of Dzogchen teachings are, for instruction, divided into two indivisible aspects: Kadag Trekchö and Tögal...
and Kadag Trekchö
Kadag Trekchö
Kadag Trekchö is a Dzogchen term and practice meaning "thorough cut" or "cutting through". 'Kadag' may be rendered as 'purity' and specifically "primordial purity"...
. Tsoknyi Rinpoche explains:
Within the instruction section there are two aspects: kadag trekchö, the cutting through of primordial purity, and lhündrub tögal, the direct crossing of spontaneous presence.
Another feature of the Menngagde is the sadhana
Sadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
of the "Seven Mind Trainings" (Lojong dön dünma, Wylie: blo-sbyong don-bdun-ma) Capriles (2003: p. 103) identifies the sadhana
Sadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
of the 'Seven Lojong' (Wylie: blo-sbyong don-bdun-ma). As Buddhist scholar Elias Capriles, notes,
In the cycle of Dzogchen Nyingthik teachings, there is a series of successive reflections called “the seven mind trainings” or seven lojong, the effect of which is similar to the one attributed to the “four reflections:” that of causing one’s mind to become integrated with the meaning of the teaching.
Four divisions of Menngagde
Menngagde itself is sometimes said to have been further divided by Sri Singha into four categories, called the "Four Cycles of Nyingtig" (Wylie: snying thig skor bzhi). They are the:- Outer Cycle
- Inner Cycle
- Secret Cycle
- Innermost Unexcelled Cycle (Wylie: yang gsang bla na med pa'i snying thig gi skor)
Variations of the name of the fourth section include the Secret Heart Essence (gsang ba snying thig), the Most Secret Unexcelled Nyingtig (yang gsang bla na med pa snying tig), the Innermost Unexcelled Cycle of Nyingtig (yang gsang bla na med pa'i snying thig skor), the Most Secret and Unexcelled Great Perfection (yang gsang bla na med pa rdzogs pa chen po), the Most Secret Heart Essence (yang gsang snying thig), the Most Secret Unsurpassable Cycle (yang gsang bla na med pa'i sde) and the Vajra Heart Essence.
Seventeen tantras
This fourth section of Menngagde is said to contain Seventeen TantrasSeventeen tantras
In Tibetan Buddhism, specifically in the literature and practice of Dzogchen, the seventeen tantras of the esoteric instruction cycle are a suite of tantras belonging to the textual division known as the "esoteric instruction cycle" .-History and tradition:The seventeen tantras, though not...
, although there are eighteen when the Ngagsung Tromay Tantra (focused on protective rites of Ekajati
Ekajati
Ekajaṭī or Ekajaṭā, , also known as Māhacīna-tārā, one of the 21 Taras, is one of the most powerful and fierce goddesses of Indo-Tibetan mythology...
) is added; and nineteen including the Longsel Barwey Tantra (Tantra of the Blazing Space of Luminosity).http://www.yoniversum.nl/dakini/tantras17.html
- 'Self-existing Perfection'
- 'Without Letters'
- 'Self-arising Primordial Awareness'
- 'Self-liberated Primordial Awareness'
- 'Piled Gems'
- 'Shining Relics of Enlightened BodyShining Relics of Enlightened BodyShining Relics of Enlightened Body is numbered amongst the 'Seventeen Tantras of Menngagde' within Dzogchen discourse and is part of the textual support for the Vima Nyingtik.-Translation:...
' - 'Reverberation of SoundReverberation of SoundThe Reverberation of Sound, or Drataljur , is the root tantra of the Seventeen Tantras of the Upadesha-varga.These Seventeen Tantras are to be found in the Canon of the Ancient School, the 'Nyingma Gyubum' , volumes 9 and 10, folio numbers 143-159 of the edition edited by 'Jamyang Khyentse...
' - 'Great Auspicious Beauty'
- 'The Mirror of the Heart of VajrasattvaThe Mirror of the Heart of VajrasattvaThe Mirror of the Heart of Vajrasattva is numbered amongst the 'Seventeen Tantras of Menngagde' within Dzogchen discourse and is part of the textual support for the Vima Nyingtik....
' - 'The Mirror of the Mind of Samantabhadra'
- 'Direct Introduction'
- 'Necklace of Precious Pearls'
- 'Sixfold Expanse of Samantabhadra'
- 'Blazing Lamp'
- 'Union of the Sun and MoonUnion of the Sun and MoonThe Union of the Sun and Moon is one of the 'Seventeen tantras of the esoteric instruction cycle' which are a suite of tantras known variously as: Nyingtik, Upadesha or Menngagde within Dzogchen discourse....
' - 'Lion's Perfect Expressive Power'
- 'Array of Jewels'
- Norbu, Namkhai and Clemente, Adriano (1999). "The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde, Kunjed Gyalpo". Ithaa, New York: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-120-0
- Schmidt, Marcia Binder (Ed.) (2002). The Dzogchen Primer: Embracing The Spiritual Path According To The Great Perfection. London, Great Britain: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 1-57062-829-7 (alk. paper)
- Tulku Thondup (edited by Harold Talbott) (1989). "The Practice of Dzogchen". Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-054-9
Electronic
- Capriles, Elías (2003). Buddhism and Dzogchen: The Doctrine of the Buddha and the Supreme Vehicle of Tibetan Buddhism. Part One Buddhism: A Dzogchen Outlook. Mérida, Venezuela: http://www.webdelprofesor.ula.ve/humanidades/elicap/
- Scheidegger, Daniel (2007). "Different Sets of Light-Channels in the Instruction Series of Rdzogs chen" in Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines. Source: http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_03.pdf (accessed: Tuesday January 13, 2009)