Semde
Encyclopedia
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 Buddhism.
Semde emphasizes the clarity (gsal-ba) or the innate awareness (rig-pa
) aspect of the Natural State.
Penor Rinpoche
states that due to the different approaches of various Dzogchen lineages, three sub-schools have developed of which semde is one. The other two divisions or schools are Longde (Space Series) and Menngagde
(Oral Instruction Series). The Mind School is attributed to Sri Singha
and Vairotsana
's lineage
It is important to note that the three series do not represent different schools of Dzogchen practice as much as different approaches to the same goal, that being the basic, natural, and primordial state. As is common throughout much Buddhist literature, Tibetan Buddhism in particular, gradations in the faculties of practitioners are also ascribed to the three divisions, they being seen as appropriate for practitioners of low, middling, and high faculties, respectively.
Germano (2005: p.12) states that:
belonging to the Mind Division include:
Another listing drawn from The Lotus Born is:
Of these, the first five are the "Five Earlier Translated Tantras", translated by Vairotsana
. The next thirteen were translated primarily by Vimalamitra. Of the remaining three, the Kunjed Gyalpo is taken to be the primary or root tantra of the Mind Series.
: rnal ’byor), called shinay (Sanskrit: shamatha, "calm abiding," wylie: zhi gnas), lhagthong (Skt: vipaśyanā
, "clear seeing," wylie: lhag mthong), nyimed (Sanskrit: advaya, "nonduality," wylie: gnyis med), and lhundrub (Sanskrit: anābogha or nirābogha,"spontaneous presence," wylie: lhun grub ). These parallel the Four Yogas of Mahamudra
.
Lineage (Buddhism)
An authentic lineage in Buddhism is the uninterrupted transmission of the Buddha's Dharma from teacher to disciple.The transmission itself can be for example oral, scriptural, through signs, or directly from one mind to another....
divisions within Atiyoga, 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...
or the Great Perfection which 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.
Semde emphasizes the clarity (gsal-ba) or the innate awareness (rig-pa
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 ....
) aspect of the Natural State.
Penor Rinpoche
Penor rinpoche
Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche was the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra. He was widely renowned in the Tibetan Buddhist world as a master of Dzogchen...
states that due to the different approaches of various Dzogchen lineages, three sub-schools have developed of which semde is one. The other two divisions or schools are Longde (Space Series) and Menngagde
Menngagde
In Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Menngagde , , is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Dzogchen, teachings...
(Oral Instruction Series). The Mind School is attributed to Sri Singha
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...
and Vairotsana
Vairotsana
This article is about the Tibetan translator. For the primordial Buddha Vairocana, please see VairocanaVairotsana of 'Pagor' was a Tibetan translator living during the reign of King Trisong Detsen...
's lineage
Background
These three divisions were introduced by the Buddhist scholar Manjushrimitra. As Great Perfection texts, the texts of all three divisions are concerned with the basic primordial state, the nature of mind-itself (which is contrasted with normal conscious mind). They are related to the 'Three statements' of Prahevajra.It is important to note that the three series do not represent different schools of Dzogchen practice as much as different approaches to the same goal, that being the basic, natural, and primordial state. As is common throughout much Buddhist literature, Tibetan Buddhism in particular, gradations in the faculties of practitioners are also ascribed to the three divisions, they being seen as appropriate for practitioners of low, middling, and high faculties, respectively.
Germano (2005: p.12) states that:
The earliest revelations of the Great Perfection are those said to have been disseminated in Tibet in the latter half of the eighth century, and which retroactively were classified as the Mind Series to distinguish them from later developments. They begin with a collection of quite short texts known as The Eighteen Texts of the Mind Series (Sems sde bco brgyad), and then subsequently proliferate into a large family of texts spawned by the original collection’s expansion, modification, and so forth, culminating in a series of texts centered on The All-Creating King (Kun byed rgyal po). Most of the resultant sub-divisions of the Mind Series rubric have names based upon geographical regions, clans, or individual founders. PadmasambhavaPadmasambhavaPadmasambhava ; 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...
(eighth century) does not figure prominently – if at all – in these early Great Perfection traditions; rather, Śrīsiṁha (eighth century), Dga’ rab rdo rje (seventh century?), and VimalamitraVimalamitraVimalamitra ), 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...
(eighth-ninth century) are the main Indian figures cited as involved in their authorship, redaction, transmission, and translation. (NB: original text not meta-enhanced.)
Distinguishing Features of the Mind Division
Texts of the Mind Division emphasize that the totality of phenomena that present themselves to us are nothing more than apparitions or projections of the mind. As the Mind Division is related to the first statement of Prahevajra, Semde texts emphasize the direct introduction to the natural state of mind, including explanations of this state and methods for recognizing it.Texts of the Mind Division
The mind class (semde) of Dzogchen was also said to comprise eighteen tantras, although the formulation eventually came to include slightly more. TantrasVajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
belonging to the Mind Division include:
- 'Cuckoo of Presence' or Rigpa'i Khuchug
- 'Great Potency' or Tsalchen Trugpa
- 'Great Garuda in Flight' or Khyungchen Dingwa
- 'Refining Gold from Ore' or Dola Serzhun
- Minubpa'i Gyaltshen Dorje Sempa Namkhache (The Victory Banner that Does Not Wane - Total Space of Vajrasattva)
- Tsemo Chung-gyal (Supreme Peak)
- Namkha'i Gyalpo (King of Space)
- Dewa Thrulkod (Jewel-Encrusted Bliss Ornament)
- Dzogpa Chiching (All-Encompassing Perfection)
- Changchub Semtig (Essence of Bodhicitta)
- Dewa Rabjam (Infinite Bliss)
- Sog-gi Khorlo (Wheel of Life)
- Thigle Trugpa (Six Spheres)
- Dzogpa Chichod (All-Penetrating Perfection)
- Yidzhin Norbu (Wish-Fulfilling Jewel)
- Kundu Rigpa (All-unifying Pure Presence)
- Jetsun Tampa (Supreme Lord)
- Gonpa Tontrub (The Realization of the True Meaning of Meditation)
- Kulayarāja Tantra (Tib. Kunjed Gyalpo) (The All-Creating King)
- Medchung Gyalpo (Wonderous King)
- Dochu (The Ten Concluding Teachings)
Another listing drawn from The Lotus Born is:
- All-embodying Jewel Scripture - (rin chen kun 'dus kyi lung)
- All-encompassing Bliss Scripture - (bde ba rab 'byams kyi lung)
- Awareness Cuckoo Scripture - (rig pa khu byug gi lung)
- Epitome of Teachings Scripture - (bka' lung gi spyi chings)
- Great Garuda View Scripture - (lta ba khyung chen gyi lung)
- Great Space King Scripture - (nam mkha' che rgyal po'i lung)
- Great Space Never Waning Banner Scripture - (mi nub rgyal mtshan nam mkha' che'i lung)
- Great Strength of Awareness Scripture - (rig pa rtsal chen gyi lung)
- Jewel Studded Bliss Scripture - (bde ba phra bkod kyi lung)
- Meditation Accomplishment Scripture - (bsgom don grub pa'i lung)
- Nonarising Tilaka Scripture - (skye med ti la ka'i lung)
- Pure Gold on Stone Scripture - (rdo la gser zhun gyi lung)
- Spontaneous Summit Scripture - (rtse mo byung rgyal gyi lung)
- Supreme King Scripture - (rje btsan dam pa'i lung)
- Variegated Great Treasury Scripture - (sna tshogs gter chen gyi lung)
- Wheel of Life Scripture - (srog gi 'khor lo'i lung)
- Wishfulfilling Jewel Scripture - (yi bzhin nor bu'i lung)
- Wonderful Wisdom Scripture - (ye shes rmad du byung ba'i lung)
Of these, the first five are the "Five Earlier Translated Tantras", translated by Vairotsana
Vairotsana
This article is about the Tibetan translator. For the primordial Buddha Vairocana, please see VairocanaVairotsana of 'Pagor' was a Tibetan translator living during the reign of King Trisong Detsen...
. The next thirteen were translated primarily by Vimalamitra. Of the remaining three, the Kunjed Gyalpo is taken to be the primary or root tantra of the Mind Series.
Four Yogas of Semde
One feature of the Semde system is four yogas (Tib. naljor, wylieWylie 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...
: rnal ’byor), called shinay (Sanskrit: shamatha, "calm abiding," wylie: zhi gnas), lhagthong (Skt: vipaśyanā
Vipassana
Vipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
, "clear seeing," wylie: lhag mthong), nyimed (Sanskrit: advaya, "nonduality," wylie: gnyis med), and lhundrub (Sanskrit: anābogha or nirābogha,"spontaneous presence," wylie: lhun grub ). These parallel the Four Yogas of Mahamudra
Mahamudra
Mahāmudrā literally means "great seal" or "great symbol." It "is a multivalent term of great importance in later Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism" which "also occurs occasionally in Hindu and East Asian Buddhist esotericism."The name refers to the way one who...
.