Menngagde

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Menngagde Wylie: man ngag sde Oral or Secret Division

Menngagde (Wylie: man ngag sde; THDL phonetics: men-ngak-dé) 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 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. 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 (oral instruction class/cycle), and this classification determined the exposition of the Dzogchen teachings in the following centuries. Mañjushrīmītra’s student Shri simha re-edited the oral instruction class/cycle, and in this form the teaching was transmitted to Jñānasūtra and Vimalamitra (sometimes Vimilamitra). Vimalamitra took the Menngagde disciplic teaching to Tibet in the 8th Century.

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 lineages, 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.

Ayu Khandro performed the Yang-Ti (Tibetan), an advanced sadhana of the Dzogchen Upadesha, a version of the Dark Retreat (Tibetan: mun mtshams).^[2]

The Glossary for Rangjung Yeshe books (2004) defines "Instruction Section (man ngag sde)" and mentions Manjushrimitra, Padmasambhava, Vairotsana, Shri Singha, Vimalamitra, Jnanasutra, terma, Rinchen Terdzo, Jamgon Kongtrul, Three Inner Tantras and the Nyingtig Yabzhi:

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 Kongtrul covering the Three Inner Tantras and in Nyingtig Yabzhi.^[3]

Contents 1 Background 2 Distinguishing Features of the Menngagde (Oral Instruction Series) 3 Notes 4 References 5 External websites

[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) determines that within the Upadesha there is Lhündrub Tögal and Kadag Trekchö:

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.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ http://www.bhutanvisit.com/Buddhism/nyingmapa.html accessed: 1 February 2007
2. ^ Allione, Tsultrim (2000). Women of Wisdom. (Includes transcribed interview with Namkhai Norbu) Source: [1] (accessed: November 15, 2007)
3. ^ Source: [2] (accessed: January 15, 2008)

[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

[edit] External websites

• Three Sections of Dzogchen