The Origin of Thögal According to the Oral Transmission

According to the Oral Transmission, when introducing the nature of awareness, this is called introducing the awareness of lhaktong. There are two aspects: first, Trekchö, and second, Thögal.

The Origin of Thögal

To explain the origin of Thögal: When Gyerpung Nangzhig was staying at Drakshawa Dong, Lord Tapi Hritsa manifested and revealed the true nature of samsara and nirvana. He liberated him from the bonds of confusion and allowed him to rest awareness in its own natural state.

About five years later, when Gyerpung Chenpo was staying in solitude at Tso Ling, on the fifteenth day of the first summer month, he saw in the space before him the manifested form of Lord Tapihritsa. His body was naked and as clear and pure as white crystal. With great devotion and longing, Gyerpung Chenpo prostrated and circumambulated him. Lord Tapihritsa then said:

“Fortunate son of noble family, one who possesses the karmic connection cultivated through previous lives, listen to the ultimate meaning. For the sake of guiding fortunate beings of future generations onto the unmistaken path, I will reveal the three profound heart instructions.”

Having said this, he taught the pith instructions of the Six Essential Points of Bodhicitta, the innermost essence of the Great Perfection, which is the ultimate meaning of the 84,000 teachings of Bön.

These instructions include recognizing the Kunzhi, bringing forth hidden wisdom, allowing awareness to manifest nakedly, and cutting through delusion at its very root.

The Six Lamps

1. གནས་པ་གཞིའི་ ོན་མ། — Népa Zhi’i Drönma

The གནས་པ་གཞིའི་ ོན་མ། — Népa Zhi’i Drönma refers to the nature of mind and naturally arising wisdom that has been present from the beginning, naked and unobscured, at the center of our own heart. It is the basis of both samsara and nirvana.

2. ཙ་ཏའི་ ོན་མ། — Tsita’i Drönma

The ཙ་ཏའི་ ོན་མ། — Tsita’i Drönma is the heart in which the naturally arising wisdom of the nature of mind abides. The heart is described as having three aspects: the outer heart, the inner heart, and the secret heart. The secret heart is the small space at the center of the heart. It is there that the awareness of Trekchö manifests nakedly.

The inner heart is like a tent of five-colored light spread out at the center of the naturally arising heart. From this, the visions of Thögal arise. Since these two—the secret heart and the inner heart—are contained within the physical heart, they are referred to as the outer heart.

The single Thiglé Nyagchik, the one essential thiglé of the nature of mind, abides within the small space at the center of the heart, inside the tent-like structure of the five-colored light.

3. དཀར་འཇམ་ འི་ ོན་མ། — Karjam Tsa’i Drönma

The དཀར་འཇམ་ འི་ ོན་མ། — Karjam Tsa’i Drönma refers to the central channel, Uma, through which self-knowing wisdom manifests.

4. ང་ཞགས་ འི་ ོན་མ། — Gyangzhak Chu’i Drönma

The ང་ཞགས་ འི་ ོན་མ། — Gyangzhak Chu’i Drönma refers to the channel known as Tsangri Purang, which emerges from within the central channel. It is extremely fine, like a silk thread. Its root is connected to the center of the heart, while its two ends extend toward the two eyes. The openings of the channels are like the petals of an open sesame flower. Through the inner passage of these channels, the five-colored lights manifest like the radiant feathers of a peacock.

5. ཞིང་ཁམས་ངོ་ ོད་ ི་ ོན་མ། — Zhingkham Ngötrö Kyi Drönma

The ཞིང་ཁམས་ངོ་ ོད་ ི་ ོན་མ། — Zhingkham Ngötrö Kyi Drönma refers to the pure lands. The small space at the center of the heart is the pure land of the Bonku. The tent-like structure of five-colored light at the center of the heart is the pure land of the Dzogku. The three channels that emerge from the heart are the pure land of the Trulku.

6. བར་དོ་ ས་ ི་ ོན་མ། — Bardo Dü Kyi Drönma

The བར་དོ་ ས་ ི་ ོན་མ། — Bardo Dü Kyi Drönma refers to the bardo of time. To explain this through the example of death: First, all appearances dissolve into the expanse of the basis. When emptiness becomes manifest as radiance, this is called the Bardo of the Bonku. At that moment, neither samsara nor nirvana has yet been established. After this, from the state of the basis, the appearances of sound, light, and rays arise. This is called the Bardo of the Kadag Bonku.

If this is recognized, liberation occurs. If it is not recognized, the process of delusion begins. Therefore, this is called the moment of both samsara and nirvana. If one recognizes the light as the natural radiance of awareness, all the manifestations of the Buddha's enlightened body arise. If it is not recognized, all the various forms of sentient beings arise. If one recognizes the sound as the natural sound of awareness, all the manifestations of the Buddha's enlightened speech arise. If it is not recognized, all the sounds and languages of sentient beings arise. If one recognizes the rays as the natural rays of awareness, all the wisdoms of the Buddha's enlightened knowledge arise. If they are not recognized, all conceptual thoughts of sentient beings arise.

How Samsara Arises

When sound, light, and rays manifest, if they are not recognized as the dynamic energy of awareness, they are perceived as something external and separate from oneself. For example, one's own reflection may appear in water. If one does not recognize it as one's own reflection, one may perceive it as the form of another person. 

In the same way, the mind that grasps at something external obscures the true meaning of awareness. This is like the sun being obscured by clouds. Because the true nature of self-knowing awareness is not recognized, the meaning of the Kunzhi is not realized. The self-knowing awareness, which is like the sun, is not recognized. Therefore, the darkness of ignorance, like deep darkness, covers everything. The Kunzhi is like space, yet its true nature becomes obscured. This is like the sky becoming dark when the sun has set. This is called co-emergent ignorance.

Thus, when the true nature of the Kunzhi and awareness is not recognized, it is called co-emergent ignorance, and from this samsara arises.

How Nirvana Arises

When sound, light, and rays manifest, if one recognizes them as one's own natural manifestations:

The light is seen as one's own light, like a rainbow;

The sound is recognized as one's own sound, like an echo;

The rays are recognized as one's own rays, like a magical illusion.

For example, it is like seeing one's own reflection when a mirror is held before oneself. In the same way, awareness manifests nakedly and directly. At that moment, it is not covered by the garments of conceptual thought.

By recognizing the Kunzhi as clear and unobscured, awareness is recognized in its own place. The accumulation of qualities does not need to be deliberately created. They naturally manifest from their own state and inherent power. When it is said that they manifest spontaneously, without deliberate accomplishment, it means that from the dynamic energy of awareness arise the five Buddha bodies, the five Buddha families, the five deities, the celestial palaces, and so forth.

The Buddha pure lands, ornaments, mandalas, colors of the enlightened bodies, hand implements, rays of light, forms and images of the enlightened bodies, and so forth, all manifest.

The melodies of enlightened speech, the various doors of Bön, the vehicles and lineages, and numerous sounds and words of truth all manifest.

The five wisdoms and the countless teachings—84,000 teachings, as well as teachings multiplied into tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands—manifest. This means that, unlike the lower vehicles, it is not necessary to deliberately accumulate the accumulations of merit and wisdom. These qualities arise naturally through the power of realization.

Thus, through the power of realization, without effort or deliberate activity, everything manifests spontaneously and effortlessly as lhündrub, naturally accomplished.

In Summary

In brief: Samsara and nirvana have one and the same basis. Through recognition, there is Buddhahood. Through non-recognition, there is sentient existence. The naturally arising wisdom that is the true nature of the basis pervades the entire body. Yet at the center of the heart, within the central channel known as the crystal-like channel, it abides in the midst of a tent of five-colored light, like a butter lamp or the sun enclosed within a vessel. However, it is obscured by the darkness of conceptual thought, just as the sun can be obscured by clouds.

How to See the Sun Through the Clouds

How, then, can this be seen, like seeing the sun through the clouds?

As Sharza Rinpoche explains in the teachings on the Daytime Vision and the subsequent Nighttime Vision, here we will explain the practice beginning with the daytime vision. This naturally arising wisdom abides at the center of the heart. At the center of the heart associated with the Tsita’i Drönma, there is a channel. This channel is called the Tsangri Purang channel and is also referred to as the channel of the Gyangzhak Chu’i Drönma. This channel passes through the Karjam Tsa’i Drönma of the central channel and extends through the brain toward the two openings of the eyes. Through the inner passage of this channel, the visions of Thögal and the manifestations of the five-colored light appear toward the eyeballs, like the radiant feathers of a peacock. The eyeballs are like open flowers. Within them, the radiance of the nature of mind, the deities appearing as thiglé, rays of light, and other appearances manifest.

The four visions of Thögal do not arise entirely from outside. Rather, they emerge from the center of the heart, pass through the central channel, and arise through the inner passage of the channel of the Gyangzhak Chu’i Drönma, appearing at the two openings of the eyes.

During this practice, one traditionally looks toward the rays of the sun in the morning and evening. At midday, one turns one's back toward the sun and gazes into the open expanse of the sky. At that time, rather than breathing through the two nostrils, the breath is allowed to move gently in and out through the space between the lips and teeth.

For the clear light to arise more easily, the practice is connected with the eastern and western directions: in the morning, one looks toward the east, and in the afternoon, toward the west. When practicing with the rays of the sun, one should stay in a place that is elevated, secluded, and has a wide-open view. For example, one may practice on a mountaintop, in a broad open plain, or on a rooftop, while choosing a place where strong sunlight does not fall directly and intensely upon the body and head.

Dzogchen Thögal

If we explain the essential points of Dzogchen Thögal ( ོགས་ཆེན་ཐོད་ ལ) in detail, we can present them in an easy-to-understand order: first, the difference between Trekchö and Thögal; then the Basis, Path, and Result, and the Four Lamps.

What Is Thögal?

Thögal (ཐོད་ ལ) is a profound Dzogchen practice. The literal meaning can be understood as “crossing directly” or “leaping directly across.” The essential point is not to meditate on an external appearance and create something new. Rather, the light and appearances that arise from the natural state of one’s own awareness and wisdom are taken as the path.

Trekchö and Thögal

The essential point of Trekchö (ེགས་ཆོད) is to directly recognize the natural state and, without effort,

rest awareness in its own natural state. Thögal (ཐོད་ ལ) is based on the nature of awareness recognized through Trekchö. It is practiced by relying on the appearances and light that arise as the natural expression of that awareness. Although the two are explained separately, they should be understood through one Basis and one awareness.

The Basis of Thögal

According to Dzogchen, the Basis can be explained through emptiness, clarity, and the characteristics of its dynamic energy.

For example:

Emptiness → Clarity → Dynamic Energy

Emptiness is the essence of awareness.

Clarity is the natural quality of awareness.

Dynamic energy refers to the naturally arising appearances that manifest from it.

How Do Appearances Arise in Thögal?

The essential point of Thögal is to rely on the appearances arising from the natural dynamic energy of awareness. These may arise as experiences of light, thiglé, appearances, and so forth. However, focusing on these and making effort by thinking, “I must see this,” is not the essential point of Thögal.

The Stages of the Thögal Path

The practice of Thögal is commonly explained through four stages of vision:

1. The Vision of the Natural State

2. The Vision of Increasing Expansion

3. The Vision of Awareness Reaching Its Full Measure

4. The Vision of the Exhaustion of the Natural State

This can be understood as a progression in which appearances become increasingly clear and expansive, ultimately reaching a state where grasping at awareness and appearances is exhausted.

What Is Most Important?

When practicing Thögal, merely seeing light, thiglé, or appearances does not mean that the essential point of Thögal has been accomplished. The fundamental points are:

• Recognizing the nature of awareness.

• Allowing the natural dynamic energy arising from it to manifest in its own place, without movement or manipulation.

• Realizing that appearances and awareness are not two, but are of one taste.

Dzogchen Thögal: Instruction for Practice

1. The Essential Points of Body, Speech, and Mind

The first section explains the essential points of the three doors: body, speech, and mind.

1.1. The Essential Point of the Body: The Five Postures

The first essential point concerns the body and the postures through which clear appearances arise spontaneously. There are five postures:

1. Sengé Gyingtshuk

2. Langchen Nyeltab

3. Drang Srong Tsokpu

4. Nga Mö Zurgö 

5. Na Pho Drak Dzé

1. Sengé Gyingtshuk

Place the soles of both feet firmly on the ground. Extend both arms straight between the knees and place both palms on the ground. Straighten the waist and sit upright. Slightly contract the lower gate, arch the upper body, and draw the crown of the head back toward the neck.

Benefits: This posture subdues the moving wind and opens the entrance to the central channel. Externally, appearances arise immediately; internally, the realization of the Bön Body (Bonku) manifests.

2. Langchen Nyeltab

Keep the knees just above the ground, without letting them touch it. Rest your weight on both elbows and the fronts of the feet, and lift or support the head with the palms.

Benefits: This posture subdues the unchanging wind and brings attachment and clinging to a halt. It uproots the causes of cyclic existence and strengthens the body. Externally, the appearance of a completely perfect pure realm arises; internally, extraordinary qualities develop.

3. Drang Srong Tsokpu

Squat down and bring both knees into the bends of the elbows. Hold the middle parts of the

legs with both hands. Hold the lower wind and rest your weight on the feet. Slightly lower and

contract the neck.

Benefits: This posture brings down the inner heat and stops all gross and subtle conceptual thoughts. Externally, the appearance of the Nirmāṇakāya manifests; internally, a distinctive experience of clear appearance arises in one's mindstream.

4. Nga Mö Zurgö

Place the right elbow on the ground and support the right cheek with the right palm. Press the left hand against the top of the left hip. Keep both legs slightly bent at the knees.

Benefits: The channels and winds enter the central channel. Extraordinary abilities arise, and visions appear immediately.

5. Na Pho Drak Dzé

Bring both knees close to the chest and squat down. Draw both hands inward from the outside of the thighs, and use the thumbs and index fingers to pull the right and left ears. Straighten the joints of the body and rest your weight on the feet.

Benefits: This posture brings grasping at subject and object to a halt and opens the gateway to wisdom. Externally, the entire network of conceptual thoughts arises as wisdom; internally, the realization of naturally clear awareness, free from fixation, develops.

1.2. The Essential Point of Speech

Stop confused speech and remain silent, without even producing the sound of the syllable A. Refrain from communicating, even through hand gestures. By practicing in this way, confused speech temporarily comes to an end, preventing the afflictions from increasing. Ultimately, one attains the genuine accomplishment of the enlightened speech of a Buddha.

1.3. The Essential Point of Mind

Do not allow the mind to be controlled by conceptual thoughts. Instead, allow them to liberate themselves naturally.

2. The Four Essential Points for Gazing at Clear Light

There are four essential points for gazing at clear light:

1. The essential point of the gaze

2. The essential point of the visual object

3. The essential point of the wind

4. The essential point of awareness

2.1. The Essential Point of the Gaze

The five bodily postures correspond to five ways of gazing.

1. Sengé Gyingtshuk

Adopt the gaze of the Bön Body (Bonku). Raise the gaze upward and direct it sharply toward the space between the eyebrows.

2. Langchen Nyeltab

Adopt the gaze of the Complete Body (Dzogku). Look straight ahead without moving the eyes.

3. Drang Srong Tsokpu

Adopt the gaze of the Emanation Body (Trülku). Lower both eyelids and direct the gaze downward.

4. Nga Mö Zurgö

Adopt the right-side method of gazing. Direct the gaze sideways to the right.

5. Na Pho Drak Dzé

Adopt the left-side wisdom gaze. Direct the gaze sideways to the left with both eyes.

2.2. The Essential Point of the Visual Object

There are two methods for training with the visual object: training with the sky and training with sunlight.

1. Training with the Sky

For this practice, adopt the crouching posture. Press the right heel with the left foot. Wrap both hands around the upper parts of the feet, press the thumbs against the little fingers, and form fists. Extend and straighten the spine.

Gaze: Look at a clear, unobstructed sky. In the morning, gaze toward the west; in the afternoon, gaze toward the east. At that time, practice the union of the three aspects of the sky:

The outer sky: The empty space of the external phenomenal world. Direct the gaze toward it.

The inner sky: The empty space within the channels and sense faculties. Concentrate on it.

The innermost secret sky: The emptiness of the nature of mind itself, which is also the ultimate secret meaning. Generate intensity and determination toward it.

In this way, one should understand the essential points of the winds and mind, as well as the essential point of the mind itself.

2. Training with Sunlight

To facilitate the arising of clear light, practice in connection with the morning and evening sunlight. In the morning, gaze toward the east; in the afternoon, gaze toward the west. Through this practice, clear light becomes fully manifest.

2.3. The Essential Point of the Wind

Because the wind can stir up awareness and make it difficult to remain stable, do not breathe through the nostrils. Instead, breathe gently in and out through the gap between the teeth.

2.4. The Essential Point of Awareness

While maintaining the prescribed gaze, gently release the breath outward. Allow awareness to dissolve into the center of the cloudless sky.

The outer sky is empty, like a mirror. By opening the gateway of appearances in this way, great clear light arises.