Menngagde
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| Menngagde Wylie: man ngag sde |
Menngagde (man ngag sde) translated as "Secret oral instruction division", "Secret oral instruction series" or "Secret oral school" (Sanskrit upadesha) is the name of one of three scriptural and lineague 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. The Menngagde series of secret Oral Instructions, focuses on the practices in which one engages after gaining confidence in knowledge of the state of rigpa.
Menngagde or the Quintessential Instructions Series of Dzogchen, emphasizes the inseparability of space and mind from the very beginning (dbyer-med), and it is this inseparability that fundamentally characterizes the Dzogchen view.
Penor Rinpoche[1] states that due to the different approaches of various Dzogchen lineagues, three sub-schools have developed of which Menngagde is one. The other two divisions or schools are Longde (Space Series) and Semde (Mind Series). Penor Rinpoche refers to Menngagde as the Quintessential Instruction School and states that it is attributed directly to Padmasambhava's lineage of the Heart's Drop (sNying-thig) cycle of teachings and practice.
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[edit] 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 Garab Dorje.
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.
[edit] Distinguishing Features of the Menngagde (Oral Instruction Series)
Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche (Schmidt, 2002: p.38) states:
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. (NB: Original quotation not meta-enhanced.)
[edit] Texts of the Menngagde (Oral Instruction Series)
Tantras belonging to the Oral Instruction Series include:
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.bhutanvisit.com/Buddhism/nyingmapa.html accessed: 1 February 2007
[edit] References
- 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)
- "The Practice of Dzogchen", Tulku Thondup, Harold Talbott editors, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca NY, 1989. ISBN 1-55939-054-9
- "The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde, Kunjed Gyalpo", Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca NY, 1999, ISBN 1-55939-120-0
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