A Garland of Light

Series: The Lineage

A Garland of Light

What is a lineage?

About 2,000 years ago, somewhere on the Indian subcontinent, Garab Dorje (Prahévajra), the first human master of Dzogchen according to the Nyingmapa tradition, received from Vajrasattva, in the form of direct teaching, the vision of the primordial nature of his mind: Samantabhadra… Realizing his own nature beyond all appearances, and receiving the essential instructions of the Great Perfection, he passed them on to his disciple Mañjuśrīmitra, who, realizing his primordial nature, passed the instructions on to his disciple, Shri Singha, who gave them in turn to his own disciples Jñānasūtra, Vimalamitra, and Padmasambhava… and so on, for generations and generations, until today… Thus began and continues the lineage of the Great Perfection, through the introduction to the primordial nature of the mind, its realization, its actualization, and the ability to present it in turn in a direct and unchanged way from the beginning.

 “The lineage is the ever-living flame of knowledge, pure since the beginning, constantly introduced. It is the heart essence of the knowledge holders.” 

The source of the Great Perfection lineage, the introduction to the nature of the mind, is the heart of the Dzogchen teachings, their fundamental essence. Whether through the transmission of the mind of buddhas such as Vajrasattva to Garab Dorje, or through the symbolic transmission of the Lords of Primordial Evidence via symbols, or through the oral transmission of the Yogis, what is transmitted in a lineage, beyond the form of texts and rituals, is this essence. The essence of primordial knowledge of the nature of the mind.

A Dzogchen lineage, pure from its origin, is the possibility for its holders to transmit the introduction to the nature of the mind. For the lineage’s masters, it is the ability to help sentient beings recognize this ever-living flame of primordial knowledge through words, gestures, sights, or silences in an endless movement of compassion.

For those of us who connect with the lineage, it is the opportunity to receive this introduction. By letting ourselves go with the flow of blessings from today’s and past masters, we have the opportunity to realize the heart of this flame, our essential nature. Thus, we can become holders of blessings for the benefit of all beings…

The lineage is the ever-living flame of knowledge, pure since the beginning, constantly introduced. It is the heart essence of the knowledge holders. It is a crystal mala [1], reflection of primordial nature, with a thousand sparkles. It is a garland of light, strung with precious wish-fulfilling jewels, those of encountering one’s own nature, the primordial evidence, whether in this life, in the bardos, or beyond, as written by Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, a great Dzogchen master of the 20th century:

“As regards this precious lineage of the unsurpassed secret teaching, because its river of powerful blessings has never ceased flowing, the direct transmission of the profound secret mantra remains unbroken.

Because the golden chain of its lineage of pure samaya vows has never been tarnished by breakages, it fulfills every imaginable wish.

Because the introduction is by the way of direct experience, it is unspoiled by language of intellectual theory.

Because it is verified by scriptures, oral transmissions, and pith instructions, it commands the deepest confidence.

And because this lineage of attaining the siddhi of realization is uninterrupted, it brings a tremendous infusion of blessings.

This, then, is why the lineage of this profound path of the Naturel Great Perfection, which leads those of the greatest diligence to awakening in this very life, those of middling diligence to awakening in the bardos, and those of average diligence of awakening in a naturally manifest paradise, is known as a “garland of light, strung with precious wish-fulfilling jewels”  [2]

[1] A mala is a traditional Buddhist rosary.     BACK

[2] Extract from « A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems – Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen lineage” Nyoshul Khenpo Padma publishing. Introduction xxvii.   BACK