Dzogchen Center - Questions-Answers

Questions & Answers

What is Dzogchen?

Dzogchen is a Tibetan word that means Great Perfection. On the outer level it refers to a method of meditative practice that enables us to recognize our true nature. Ultimately, great perfection is that very nature: the natural, primordially pure nature of mind.

Here, our ultimate nature is understood as pure, primordial, naturally-arising timeless awareness. Although this intrinsic awareness, called rigpa in Tibetan, has no form, shape or color, it is capable of perceiving, experiencing or reflecting all the forms of phenomenal existence. Though it reflects the forms, the experiences, the good and bad feelings of everyday life, this pure intrinsic awareness of rigpa–which is our true nature–remains unstained and unaffected by them. Thus it is said that one’s nature is like a mirror: it naturally reflects all that arises with complete openness, but the mirror remains unaffected by these reflections.

The method of practice of the Great Perfection is designed to awaken us, to instigate a direct recognition of this pure, unstained nature–who we really are. It is a practice that is grounded in compassion and loving-kindness, bodhicitta in Tibetan. Compassion is both the motivation for embarking on the journey, and the natural, spontaneous expression of the awakened mind. In this way the Great Perfection is the union of perfect wisdom (the recognition of our true nature) and perfect compassion (the spontaneous activity that heals the suffering of ourselves and others.)

What prevents us from already being awakened is ordinary conceptual thinking, which is rooted in the obscuring emotions of desire, aversion, anger, self-grasping, and the misunderstanding of the way everything arises merely as the momentary result of ephemeral causes and conditions. These mental habit-formations obscure the truth that is so close that we can not see it.

The meditation practice of the Great Perfection is specifically designed to break up these obscuring mental habits of mind; at that moment what is revealed is what is really there: the pure mirror-like nature of intrinsic awareness, uncontaminated by the desire, aversion and frustration of conceptual thinking. In meditation we just relax and rest in that true nature. In this unlimited, sky-like mental space we can observe how thoughts spontaneously arise, abide, and disappear; we see that the exact same thoughts that cause us so much anxiety, aggravation and animosity when we cling to them, have no more reality to them than does writing on water.

In meditation we discover that no effort is required to dissolve thoughts. We discover that the very same thoughts that cause all of our problems actually arise by themselves and dissolve by themselves; all we have to do is relax and let them be.

In meditation we relax and rest in this state of the simultaneous arising, abiding, and disappearing of all mental phenomena: we abide in the natural state of the mind. We rest in the space between thoughts.

Because we merely recognize what is already there it is called the meditation of non-meditation. Because obscuring conceptual thoughts automatically disappear with their own arising – we do not need to make them disappear – it is called effortless.

Because cultivating this experience of the simultaneous arising and disappearing of thoughts undermines the negative emotions, and the negative actions that arise from clinging to those emotions, it is like a unique medicine that can cure all of our ailments.

Who is Lama Surya Das?

For more than a millennium Tibet was an isolated laboratory for the exploration of the mind through meditative practice. With the Tibetan diaspora in 1959 Tibet’s greatest spiritual masters emerged into the modern world, bringing with them proven techniques for realizing the ultimate human potential.

Lama Surya Das was among the earliest spiritual explorers to encounter these great teachers in India and Nepal. Realizing this priceless opportunity he embarked on an intensive two decades of study and practice, which included
more than eight years in secluded retreat. His teachers included the 16th Karmapa, Kalu Rinpoche Dudjom Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kangyur Rinpoche and Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. He began his teaching career in Europe and America in 1990 in partnership with Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, who formally authorized him to transmit to Westerners the highest practices of the tradition, the teachings of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection.

When a student sets out on this path it is essential that a qualified teacher transmits to them the view of the Great Perfection. This pointing out of the nature of mind takes many forms and has been accomplished by Dzogchen teachers in innumerable ways for students of various capacities. Many students have found that this is Lama Surya Das’ special gift: his ability to transmit the very pith of these instructions with expansive warmth, poetry and abundant good humor. He has often said “my mission is transmission.”

Although the dense and multi-faceted world of Tibetan Buddhism is hard for many Westerners to penetrate, Lama Surya Das offers direct access to its most powerful insights, its most transformative practice, in its simplest form. You don’t need to be a Buddhist to benefit from these teachings, you don’t need to sit cross-legged on the floor; you only need to open your eyes, open your ears, open your heart, discover the natural perfection of your true nature, the utterly lucid awakened mind.

What happens at a residential retreat?

Since the first Dzogchen retreat with Lama Surya Das in 1989 in Switzerland and 1990 in the USA, we have evolved a rhythm that creates an experience that is relaxed but focused, quiet but joyful, intense but expansive.

When you look at the daily schedule posted on the bulletin board each morning you will see the day broken up into sessions with these labels: Group Practice, Individual Practice, Teachings, Yoga, and Meals.

One important point that a newcomer to our retreats needs to know is that nothing is compulsory. Our practice is to awaken the Buddha within, and it is implicit that our retreatants are mature individuals who know how to use their time most productively. For some, coming to retreat is a precious opportunity to sit in silent meditation for many hours a day. For others, it is important to get outside, walk the trails around the retreat center, and open up to the natural world. For most, it is the combination of these elements that make Dzogchen Center retreats so powerful.

Teaching- There are three teaching sessions each day: mid-morning, afternoon, and evening. Lama Surya Das will teach most of these sessions; about a third of the teachings will be from specially invited guest teachers and senior students.

The rhythm of one of Lama Surya’s sessions generally involves chanting, silent meditation, his teaching, and an extended question and answer session. Lama Surya’s teaching methods are designed to transmit the essential insights of the Great Perfection tradition in a direct and accessible manner. He uses the question and answer sessions to tailor the discussion to the particular needs of the students in the room, and he encourages everyone to bring their questions so that others can share in the benefit of the dialogue.

Group Practice – These are meditation sessions, about 45 minutes each. A practice leader will open the session with a short dedication prayer or some chanting; then silent meditation, practicing the methods that Lama Surya has taught. While most people sit on cushions on the floor, comfortable chairs are also available.

Individual Practice- At summer camp this would be called free time. But here we are on retreat, with a precious opportunity away from the distractions of our worldly lives. We don’t want to waste time. We do whatever we need to do during this time – take a walk in the woods, exercise, lie down and rest, or sew on a button – but we do it with the clarity of present awareness.

Yoga- This mind and body will not be separated until death. Every Dzogchen Center retreat offers methods of cultivating the mind through physical practices.
A sample daily schedule can be found here.

What is the COVID-19 Policy and Protocol for Residential Retreats?

In an effort to protect our dear Lama, staff, and attendees, the Dzogchen Center & Foundation requests:

all guests self-test (at home antigen test is acceptable) within the 48-hour window prior to arriving at Serra Retreat Center.
all guests bring an additional self-test kit with them.
any guest who exhibits cold symptoms (coughing or sneezing) must use a mask in public spaces. Masks will be encouraged but not required. Please bring a supply of masks.
any guest who tests positive for COVID-19 during the retreat will be unable to remain at Serra Retreat Center for the duration of the retreat; Dzogchen Center does not have the ability or expertise to support you. For those who need to make travel arrangements–particularly those of you who flew to CA—we can accommodate a brief stay in quarantine accommodations separate from the active retreat container while you make plans to depart.
all guest prepare an exit strategy should they test positive for COVID-19 while at Serra.
if a guest tests positive within 3-5 days after departure, please contact us immediately.

What happens at a virtual weekend retreat?

Join Lama Surya online for an engaging, enlivening, and awakening retreat, from the comfort of your own home. In this new world, framed by the need for healthy environments, we hope you will join us as we continue Lama’s mission by taking a great leap of faith and offering our traditional residential retreats in a virtual environment.

The daily schedule will mirror our residential retreats, but allow plenty of time for rest and renewal between sessions. Lama Surya will offer dharma teachings, guided meditations, and allow ample time for Q & A. The program includes additional guided and silent meditation sessions, sky-gazing meditation, dharma talks, heart-opening chanting, and uplifting Tibetan Energy Yoga.

Connection is through Zoom.

For our weekend virtual retreats, Lama Surya gently requests that "Noble Silence" be observed from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. Honoring this sacred and ancient practice allows us a tranquil container and inner sanctum to explore the mind and deepen our experience to its fullest.

All levels of meditators are welcome!

Why is the retreat “silent?”

At Dzogchen Center retreats we keep “Noble Silence.” It is of utmost importance this time-honored tradition be honored and adhered to while on retreat. At the ground floor of all spiritual practice is mindfulness: a developing awareness of what is arising in the mind, and the actions of body and speech that are driven by those thoughts. To quiet the mind, to let it settle to its natural state, the words have to stop. We stop the verbal chatter of constant conversation so that we can reduce the mental chatter that distracts us from seeing the true nature of mind.

There is so much to be learned when we stop talking. So much to discover about ourselves and the way we live our ordinary lives when we pull up short and catch ourselves before we say another word. From the first evening of retreat until the closing circle on the last morning, we keep noble silence.

The Buddha answered certain types of questions with “noble silence”: metaphysical questions that had no answer, or useless questions that contributed nothing to the real Buddhist project, which is to free ourselves of delusion and suffering. The noble silence we maintain in retreat permits us to see how much of our ordinary activities of body, speech, and mind are self-created obstacles to our own liberation.

Although on the outer level a retreat appears to be a social situation, with many others around us, on the level of practice, we are alone with our minds. Keeping silence is “noble” because it elevates us, it gives us the space to develop mindfulness, and mindfulness grows into present awareness, which blossoms in awakening.

Lama Surya Das Website