Bodhicitta Dakini Monastery for social engagement and Western monastics

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Georges Hall, NSW
Bodhicitta Dakini Monastery for social engagement and Western monastics

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Bodhicitta Dakini Monastery (Kalyanamitra Fund) is a Buddhist Abbey in Unesco protected world heritag

08/11/2026

ASK ME ANYTHING (about Dharma)
Friday 7pm 13/11/26
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SAT 10am 14/11
ONLINE DHARMA TALK SAT
Dm or email [email protected]
For zoom password
$20

www.bodhicitta-vihara.com to donate

04/11/2026

WHAT IS A DAKINI?

The word dakini literally means “sky-dweller,” a celestial being who does not need to walk on the ground. There are different types of dakinis: wisdom dakinis, activity dakinis, and mundane dakinis. The real wisdom dakini is the empty quality of luminous wakefulness. Perception is the male aspect, while emptiness within our perception is the female quality. Thus the great mother of dharmakaya is the basis for all the dakinis.

Actually, the basis for all male deities is the dharmakaya buddha Samantabhadra and the basis for all female deities is Samantabhadri. Samantabhadra is the foundation of all perception and Samantabhadri is the empty quality within all these perceptions. Moreover, while Samantabhadri is called the ground of emanation, her emanation is the great mother of dharmakaya, the female buddha Prajnaparamita. Vajra Varahi is a sambhogakaya emanation of Prajnaparamita, as are the five female buddhas Dhatvishvari, Mamaki, Buddhalochana, Pandaravasini, and Samayatara, who are consorts of the five male buddhas. On the nirmanakaya level Prajnaparamita’s emanation is Arya Tara. These were the wisdom dakinis of the three kayas.

In addition to wisdom dakinis, there are also the dakinis who carry out the activities of enlightened deeds for the welfare of beings, the samaya dakinis who oversee the observation of our ta***ic commitments, samayas. There are also the dakinis who live in the major and minor sacred places in this world: the thirty-two major sacred areas and the twenty-four minor sacred valleys. When including the eight chief charnel grounds, these are renowned as the sixty-four sacred places where the sixty-four dakas and dakinis dwell. Corresponding to these sixty-four external places, on a more subtle level, the same number of dakas and dakinis also dwell in sixty-four centers of our physical body as the pure essence of the channels, energies, and essences.

Yeshe Tsogyal was also an emanation of Arya Tara. Arya Tara is an emanation of Vajra Varahi. Vajra Varahi’s ground of emanation is Prajnaparamita and Samantabhadri. The equivalent male three kayas are Samantabhadra, Vajradhara, and Buddha Shakyamuni. It is quite foolish to say that only men and not women become buddhas since both Prajnaparamita and Samantabhadri are buddhas. The five aspects of Vajra Varahi are also fully enlightened buddhas. Arya Tara appears in the form of a bodhisattva on the tenth bhumi but in actuality she is also a completely awakened buddha. Moreover, the eight female bodhisattvas among the forty-two peaceful deities are also buddhas. The attribute of being male or female is definitely not ultimate. The eight male and female bodhisattvas among the peaceful deities in the bardo state are identical in essence with the eight mamo goddesses and eight yoginis, all female, among the wrathful deities. Male buddhas appear as female and female as male. Dakinis can appear in all different ways and forms, some of them outrageous or repulsive in order to arrest conceptual thinking and wrong perception.

Finally, when practicing the Dharma it is good to remember that the special quality of the Vajrayana system of the early translations and, especially, of the teachings of Dzogchen is “to ascend with the conduct while descending with the view.” This statement of Guru Rinpoche is of crucial importance. If we start out by acting according to a high view, we will simply look crazy or insane. If we only keep the view of the lower vehicles we will never find the chance for liberation. The view of a shravaka or pratyekabuddha does not bring enlightenment in one lifetime but only after three incalculable aeons. One must act in accordance with the lower vehicles while keeping the view of the inner tantras.

TULKU URGYEN RINPOCHE
Asura Cave, 1989
"Dakini Teachings"

27/10/2026

LHA BAB DUCHEN VERY HOLY DAY
Sun Nov 1
Marks the day Shakyamuni Buddha descended to Earth from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (God Realm) after teaching the Dharma to the gods and his mother, Mayadevi. The Buddha traveled to the celestial realm to repay his mother's kindness. Upon his return, the gods Indra and Brahma created three divine ladders (gold, silver, and crystal) to help him descend to Sankassa, India.
Lha Bab Duchen is one of the four greatest holy days in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar. Karmic results of positive or negative actions on this day are multiplied by 100 million times.

Visiting monasteries, making donations, meditation, taking the 8 precepts, extra ceremonies (such as the water bowl and Tara pujas) and lighting lights is encouraged.

www.bodhicitta-monastery.com

26/10/2026

WHEN WOMEN IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG Pt 2

The relevant question is not whether criticism makes a community uncomfortable. It is whether the community responds to legitimate concerns with honesty, compassion and responsibility, stops abuse and wjether thpse with less power have a voice and whether their wellbeing is addressed. If the reputation of the Dharma can be preserved only by concealing harm, exploiting people, ignoring the wellbeing of women or ordained sangha, disregards the vinaya and established traditions of respect, mutual regard and generosity, concentrates all the power only in an elite group of "chosen" men from only one ethnic group, then it is the meaning of that preservation that needs to be questioned.

5. From personal loyalty to institutional accountability

If we want to prevent abuse, sexism and exploitation, good teachers and good intentions are not enough. We need structures that remain effective even when a teacher is highly respected, charismatic, wealthy or institutionally powerful.

Meaningful accountability requires several things.

Independent complaint procedures

Serious complaints should be assessed by people who are not beholden to the teacher concerned. An institution should not rely solely on a teacher’s close students, personal representatives or financial dependants to determine how allegations are handled.

Protection against retaliation

People who raise concerns should not be threatened with exclusion, public humiliation, spiritual condemnation or the loss of basic support. Clear policies must protect complainants and witnesses from retaliation.

Fair and competent investigations

Allegations should be taken seriously and assessed through appropriate procedures. Fairness includes protecting complainants from intimidation and ensuring that respondents have a meaningful opportunity to respond. Confidentiality must be respected without being used to conceal institutional failures.

Transparent governance

Religious organisations should have clear codes of conduct, defined responsibilities, conflict-of-interest policies and procedures for responding to substantiated misconduct. Leaders should be answerable to more than their own authority. Monastics should be supported for their labour as a refuge and not just as an unpaid work force.

Material security for monastics

Nuns need access to food, housing, healthcare, education and opportunities for practice that do not depend on unquestioning obedience to an individual teacher. Economic security gives people greater freedom to raise concerns and to leave unsafe environments.

Genuine participation by women

Nuns and laywomen should have meaningful roles in institutional decision-making, including safeguarding and governance. Consultation is not enough if women’s concerns can be ignored without explanation or consequence. These measures do not guarantee that abuse will never occur. They make it more difficult for misconduct to be concealed, complaints to be suppressed and powerful individuals to evade scrutiny. Most importantly, they shift responsibility away from the courage of isolated individuals and towards the collective obligations of institutions.

6. What would it take for Buddhist women to act together?

Many women (and good men and non binary people) within religious institutions may already recognise some of these problems. The difficulty is translating private concern into collective action. A woman may privately agree that a teacher behaved unethically while publicly defending the institution because she fears the consequences of dissent. Another may condemn an individual teacher but resist examining the wider system because doing so threatens her understanding of the tradition.

Others may be ready for change but believe that nobody else will support them (a common experience leading to many western monastics and abuse sirvivirs disrobing or leaving with heartbreak and a loss of faith). Silence can therefore become self-reinforcing. Each person assumes that others accept the status quo, and the absence of public opposition is mistaken for collective agreement.

Breaking this pattern requires more than telling women to speak out. It requires spaces where concerns can be discussed safely, connections between people who share them, access to independent advice, and practical alternatives for those who face retaliation. It also requires accepting that not everyone will be ready to participate.

Some practitioners may eventually reconsider their understanding of spiritual authority. Others may continue to defend their institutions. Still others may support specific reforms without agreeing with every criticism of the tradition. It is hard for this to change if male leaders refuse to give up any power. Progress does not require unanimity. It requires enough people willing to establish and defend ethical standards and equality.
The aim should not be to force every Buddhist woman to question her faith. It should be to ensure that no one has to choose between her spiritual commitments and their right to safety, dignity and accountability.

Conclusion: the Dharma deserves better than silence

Tibetan Buddhism contains profound contemplative traditions and philosophical resources. Its practitioners also live within human institutions, with the same capacities for generosity, self-deception, loyalty, fear and misuse of power found elsewhere.

Recognising this does not require either idealising or dismissing the tradition. It requires taking the relationship between spiritual authority and ethical responsibility seriously.

When women defend institutions despite privately recognising their failures, we should ask what makes honest dissent so costly. When misconduct and exploitation is condemned but structural reform is resisted, we should ask whose interests the existing arrangements protect. And when criticism is portrayed as an attack on the Dharma, we should ask whether institutional reputation has been allowed to take precedence over the wellbeing of practitioners.

The answer cannot be to place the entire burden on individual women to become braver, more independent or more willing to sacrifice their communities. We need institutions that welcome scrutiny, protect those who raise concerns and recognise that no teacher is beyond accountability. We need monastic communities in which women have equal opportunities to study, practise, teach and participate in decisions that affect their lives. Right now very few of these exist and thise that do are often headed by Teachers accused of sexism or abuse. We need a Buddhist culture in which devotion is not confused with submission, compassion is not confused with silence, and loyalty to the Dharma does not require loyalty to a person at the expense of those they may harm.

The test of a spiritual community is not whether it can preserve the reputation of its teachers. It is whether it can respond to suffering with honesty, protect those who are vulnerable, and change when its own conduct falls short of its deepest ethical commitments.

www.bodhicitta-monastery.com

26/10/2026

WHEN WOMEN KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG: Faith, Fear and Institutional Loyalty

Why devotion, patriarchy and institutional loyalty can make it so difficult to confront sexual abuse in Tibetan Buddhism.

There is a painful contradiction at the heart of many religious communities: women can recognise that something is wrong and still defend the institutions that allow it to continue, as do men.

In Tibetan Buddhism, where the relationship between Guru and student can be central to spiritual practice, confronting sexual abuse or misconduct or ethno/male centricism by a revered lama may involve far more than acknowledging an individual’s wrongdoing. It can require questioning authority, religious teachings, personal sacrifices and the very foundations of one’s spiritual life - leading one to question the foundations of ones faith.

For Western Buddhist nuns, this can be particularly complicated. Many have devoted decades to their practice, invested their own financial resources in religious life, and built their identities and communities around Tibetan Buddhist lineages. To acknowledge the full extent of institutional failures, exploitation and abandonment by both leaders and communities may mean confronting the possibility that structures they have trusted are not what they believed them to be.

Understanding this dilemma is essential if we want meaningful change.

1. When devotion makes criticism psychologically costly

For many Vajrayana practitioners, devotion to the guru is not simply admiration for a teacher. It can be understood as an essential element of the spiritual path, involving trust, commitment and the cultivation of a particular way of seeing. Its a relationship as deep and foundation to the practitioners life as a parent or spouse. This relationship is said to endure for lifetimes.

This creates a profound difficulty when a teacher is accused of sexual misconduct, coercion or the misuse of spiritual authority or despite the trident devotion and years if service, complete neglect at the hands if the teacher/institution.

If a practitioner has been taught that the guru is indispensable to liberation, that appearances can be deceptive, or that apparently harmful behaviour may have an enlightened meaning, acknowledging misconduct can threaten their entire spiritual framework. Psychologically, this can produce cognitive dissonance: the distress that arises when deeply held beliefs conflict with troubling evidence.

A practitioner may respond by questioning the credibility of the person reporting harm, minimising the misconduct, weaponisong concepts of samaya or emptyness to discredit and gaslight them, separating the teacher’s spiritual qualities from their behaviour, or interpreting criticism as evidence of the critic’s own spiritual failings.

These responses are not necessarily conscious or deliberate. They can be ways of preserving a coherent sense of reality when the alternative feels overwhelming.

There is also the weight of personal investment. A nun who has spent thirty years practising within a lineage may have given up career opportunities, relationships, financial security and other possible lives. Acknowledging serious institutional failure may raise painful questions about those sacrifices. Yet the depth of a person’s investment does not establish the truth of their beliefs, nor does it make their concerns about misconduct less important. Faith should not require the suspension of ethical judgement. A practitioner can value a teacher’s genuine contributions while recognising that the teacher is capable of harmful conduct and must be held accountable for it or that the community runs on the unpaid explotation of western monastics and women but still has good elements.

Questioning a teacher’s behaviour need not mean abandoning Buddhism. It may instead be an expression of commitment to the ethical principles Buddhism professes.

2. Economic dependence and the cost of speaking out

Religious institutions are often discussed as though their members are free to leave whenever they disagree. In practice, leaving or speaking out can carry enormous costs.
For monastics, these costs may include losing access to housing, food, healthcare, education, retreat opportunities, teachers and a community of spiritual friends as well as their source if lineage, authentication to teach and the meaning they have anchored their life too.

Western Buddhist nuns may appear financially independent because they support themselves through savings, pensions, donations or outside employment. But self-funding does not necessarily mean having genuine institutional independence. Thus is by necessity, its not actually how the Buddha said monastics should exist. The vinaya and sutras clearly say this. Nor is it sustainable for monastics to endlessly work for no money, in outside job amd pay rent to centres with no time for their own practice or training

A nun may have invested her retirement savings in a religious life that depends on continued access to a particular lineage. She may have few alternative communities where she can receive advanced training or practise at the level she has worked towards for decades. Her social world may be inseparable from the institution she would need to criticise - it would be like turning on family.

If speaking out risks losing friendships, reputation, spiritual opportunities or a sense of belonging, silence can become a rational response to an intolerable situation. This is one reason why simply urging women to be courageous may be inadequate. It places responsibility on individuals while leaving the conditions that discourage dissent unchanged.

If we want people to speak honestly, we must also create conditions in which they can do so without losing their livelihoods, communities or spiritual futures. That means material support for monastics, independent channels for raising concerns, protection against retaliation and genuine alternatives for people who need to leave an unsafe environment. A religious community cannot claim that participation is voluntary while ignoring the consequences imposed on those who challenge its authority.

3. Condemning individual misconduct while protecting the system

When allegations against a prominent teacher become public, institutions may acknowledge that something went wrong. They may condemn the behaviour, express regret or distance themselves from the individual concerned.

Such responses can be necessary. But they are not sufficient if the conditions that enabled the misconduct remain untouched. Nor do they address western women/western monastics lack of access to training, resources and leadership roles in the spiritual communities they give their lives to.

Consider what happens when an institution treats sexual abuse exclusively as the failure of one individual. The wider questions may never be addressed. And yet repeatedly we see that abusers require enabling community and systems around them to groom, validate and gain access to victims.

Was the teacher given unchecked authority? In Vajrayana thus is often the case. Were complaints handled by close students or financial dependants? Were people discouraged from speaking because of samaya or fear of spiritual consequences? Did the institution prioritise its reputation over the safety of practitioners? Were there independent procedures for investigating allegations? If these questions remain unanswered, removing one teacher or condemning one act may leave the underlying vulnerabilities intact. The distinction between individual wrongdoing and structural failure is crucial.

An institution may sincerely condemn abuse while retaining governance arrangements that make future accountability difficult. It may express sympathy for survivors while continuing to rely on the authority, finances or reputation of the people whose conduct is in question. This does not mean that every member of such an institution supports abuse, or that every Buddhist organisation operates in the same way. It means that good intentions cannot substitute for effective safeguards.

We should ask not only whether an institution condemns misconduct, but whether it has changed the conditions that made misconduct difficult to challenge.

4. Protecting the Dharma must not mean protecting a teacher’s reputation

One of the most troubling dynamics in religious abuse is the suggestion that speaking publicly about misconduct damages the Dharma.

Practitioners may be told that criticism creates division, undermines faith, destroys the Dharma, harms the lineage or discourages people from practising. Sometimes the person raising concerns is portrayed as angry, disloyal, spiritually immature or motivated by personal grievances and is breaking the vajrayana vows. This shifts attention away from the conduct being questioned and towards the supposed deficiencies of the person who speaks. It also creates a false choice: either protect the reputation of the teacher and institution, or damage the religion itself.

But what does it mean to protect the Dharma?

If the Dharma teaches compassion, non-harming, ethical conduct and the investigation of suffering, then preventing harm and addressing misconduct should be central to its preservation. The first vow of Buddhism is to do no harm, to benefit beings and preserve the teachings, to lead people to liberation. A teacher’s reputation is not identical to the Dharma. An institution’s continuity is not identical to the Dharma. The comfort of a religious community is not more important than the safety of the people within it.

Nor does a commitment to samaya mean that spiritual authority should be beyond ethical scrutiny. Whatever interpretations practitioners hold concerning ta***ic commitments, they should not be used to excuse coercion, patriarchal inequality, sexual abuse or ve used to silence people reporting harm or prevent appropriate investigation.

Respect for Tibetan Buddhist traditions does not require accepting every institutional practice as beyond criticism. Traditions remain alive through the serious engagement of practitioners who care about their ethical integrity.

18/10/2026

PRACTICE WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS DARK

"If a child smiles, if an adult smiles, that is very important. If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace. When I see Tim smiling, I am so happy. If he is aware that he is making other people happy, he can say, “You are welcome.”

Many of us worry about the situation of the world. We don’t know when the bombs will explode. We feel that we are on the edge of time. As individuals, we feel helpless, despairing. The situation is so dangerous, injustice is so widespread, the danger is close.

In this kind of a situation, if we panic, things will only become worse. We need to remain calm, to see clearly. Meditation is to be aware and to try to help."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

www.bodhicitta-monastery.com

12/10/2026

Dzogchen Thögal – How 'Objects' Manifest as Embellishing Ornaments via the Vivid Display of Rigpa’s Natural Radiance

The actual manifestation of phenomenal appearances of both pure visions and impure karmic visions is considered to be the external display of one’s internal creative power, the expressive energy of Awareness (rig pa'i rtsal) arising from within its internal dimension. As an external 'projection' of one's natural potentiality (rang rtsal) all kinds of sensory appearances manifest either as conceptual objects of one’s mind or appear as Rigpa’s embellishing ornaments (rgyan). Focusing on the manifestation of the entire universe and its beings and the visionary appearances of dzogchen’s thögal practice Longchenpa’s Zabmo Yangthig summarized the process:

“As for the actual manner of arising and the manifest appearance [of saṃsāra’s impure appearances and nirvāṇa’s pure visions] from Awareness’s expressive energy (rig pa'i rtsal) arise the five primordial wisdoms. From their expressive energies [ye shes lnga'i rtsal] - the five-colored rays of luminous light ('od zer lngar) – arise the [five subtle] elements. From their expressive energies ['byung ba lnga'i rtsal] arise the [five coarse] elements as material forms of the external container of the universe. From their expressive energies ['byung gzugs lnga'i rtsal] arise the variety of [plant such as] flowers and so forth.

From the five-colored luminous lights [naturally radiating] from the [five] luminous spheres (thig le 'od lnga) arise the five [coarse and subtle] elements of the physical body together with their expressive energies [lus kyi 'byung lnga rtsal]. From those arise the aggregates, elements, sense bases, and so forth (phung po khams dang skye mched la sogs/skandha dhātu āyatana).

Furthermore, by realizing [Awareness’s expressive energy] the expressive energies of nirvāṇa arise as the five enlightened bodies and the five primordial wisdoms together with their related enlightened activities. Consequently, their virtuous qualities naturally manifest by themselves in an unceasing and unobstructed manner.”

Mainly based on the Ta**ra of the Great All-Illuminating Sphere (thig le kun gsal chen po'i rgyud) he thoroughly explains those manifestations being the embellishing adornments or beautifying ornaments (rgyan), which are closely related to the 'luminously radiant internal and external display' (rol pa), as the manifest appearances arising from the expressive energy of one's own Awareness (rig pa'i rtsal) in the following manner:

“As for a comprehensive understanding of 'expressive energy' (rtsal) there are five topics: (1.) essential meaning (ngo bo/svabhāva), (2.) etymology (nges tshig/nirukti), (3.) classification (dbye ba/prabheda), (4.) illustrative example (mtshon dpe/dṛṣṭānta), and (5.) mode of arising ('char tshul).
1. The essential meaning of 'expressive energy' is identified as being unceasing and unobstructed (ma 'gags pa).

2. Its etymological definition is 'expressive energy' because it possesses the power of manifestation.

3. As for its classification, there are two: the appearance of deluded perception as saṃsāra, and the appearance of realization as nirvāṇa. Thus, there are the two divisions of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa.

4. The examples are: a single sun appearing as many suns; the unceasing rays of light from the sun; whether or not aconite is neutralized by mantra; camphor; or like a flash of lightning.

5. [As for the mode of arising of the compassionate energy’s natural radiance (thugs rje'i gdangs)] from within the empty Awareness that is likened to a [transparent] sphere of a crystal ball - existing merely as the potential or capacity for internal luminosity to arise - the natural expressive energy (rang rtsal) of the five primordial wisdoms’s natural radiances manifest by themselves (ye shes lnga'i rang gdangs) as five luminous lights. From this natural expressive energy, the luminous appearances of the enlightened bodies and wisdoms arise as external luminosity.

When these are not realized for what they actually are, the expressive energy of saṃsāra’s dualistic grasping arises by itself as bewildering delusory appearances. When they are realized, the expressive energy of the nirvāṇa’s primordial wisdoms arises as the pure visionary appearances of the two enlightened form bodies, i.e. saṃbhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya.

Second, [as for the comprehensive understanding of 'embellishing adornment' (rgyan) there are five topics: (1.) essential meaning (ngo bo/svabhāva), (2.) etymology (nges tshig/nirukti), (3.) classification (dbye ba/prabheda), (4.) example (dpe/dṛṣṭānta), and (5.) illustrative words (mtshon tshig/lakṣaṇapada):

1. The essential meaning of 'beautifying ornament' or 'embellishing adornment' is the beautification of the essential qualities by means of distinctive qualities.

2. As for its etymological definition, it is called an 'embellishing adornment' because whatever exists is made beautiful by its presence.

3. When classified, there are three types, (1.) the three kāyas are the 'embellishing adornment' of dharmatā; (2.) the two rūpakāyas are the 'embellishing adornment' of the dharmakaya, (3) and the five lights, which are the natural self-radiance of primordial wisdom, are the 'embellishing adornment' of both.

4. There are three examples, (1.) the empty dharmatā state adorned by the dharmakāya is like the sky adorned by the sun, (2.) the dharmakāya of the five kāyas is adorned by the [five] primordial wisdoms’ Awareness is like a five-colored peacock’s egg', and (3.) five primordial wisdoms being adorned by Awareness is likened to a peacock chick.
Instead, it could be understood respectively as gold inlaid with turquoise, a crystal radiating [five] luminous lights, and [fully developed garuda] chick [within its egg] when hatching the egg and emerging from its shell [it is ready to fly].

5. Regarding the illustrative words [the Ta**ra of the Great All-Illuminating Sphere (thig le kun gsal chen po'i rgyud)] states likewise: "In all the tantras and transmissions I have taught, it is said: 'The dharmakāya abides within the state of dharmatā. When its natural radiance is described as the five wisdoms, it is explained that the dharmakāya is adorned by the [five] wisdoms.' The manner in which the five lights of the five wisdoms are perfected as the kāyas, and the description of their respective families, colors, and shapes, is explained as the 'lord of wisdom' being adorned by compassionate energy."

།གཉིས་པ་རྒྱན་ལ་ལྔ་སྟེ། ངོ་བོ། ངེས་ཚིག །དབྱེ་བ། དཔེ། མཚོན་ཚིག་གོ།
།རྒྱན་གྱི་ངོ་བོ་ནི་ངོ་བོའི་ཆོས་ལ་ཁྱད་པར་གྱི་ཆོས་ཀྱིས་མཛེས་པའོ།
།ངེས་ཚིག་གང་ཡོད་པས་ཡོད་པ་མཛེས་པའི་ཕྱིར་རྒྱན་ནོ།
།དབྱེ་ན་གསུམ་སྟེ། ཆོས་ཉིད་ཀྱི་རྒྱན་དུ་སྐུ་གསུམ། ཆོས་སྐུའི་རྒྱན་དུ་གཟུགས་སྐུ་གཉིས། གཉིས་ཀའི་རྒྱན་དུ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ལ་རང་གདངས་འོད་ལྔ་དང་བཅས་པའོ།
།དཔེ་ལ་གསུམ། ཆོས་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ལ་ཆོས་སྐུས་བརྒྱན་པ་ནམ་མཁའ་ལ་ཉི་མས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུ། ཆོས་སྐུ་སྐུ་ལྔ་ལ་རིག་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱིས་བརྒྱན་པ་རྨ་བྱའི་སྒོ་ང་འོད་ལྔ་ཕྲུག་གུའི་རིག་པས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུའམ། གསེར་ལ་གཡུས་སྤྲས་པ་དང༌། མན་ཤེལ་ལ་འོད་གསལ་བ་དང་སྒོ་ང་རྡོལ་ནས་ཕྱིས་ཕྱུང་བ་ལྟར་རིམ་པ་བཞིན་ཤེས་པར་བྱ་སྟེ།
།ངེས་ཚིག་དོན་གྱི་དབྱེ་བ་ནི། །ཆོས་ཉིད་དག་ལ་ཆོས་སྐུས་བརྒྱན༌།སྟོང་པ་ཕྱང་ཆད་གསལ་བས་མཛེས། །ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུ་ལ་ཡེ་ཤེས་བརྒྱན། ཡོན་ཏན་འགགས་པ་མེད་པས་མཛེས།། །ཡེ་ཤེས་དག་ལ་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བརྒྱད། །འགྲོ་དྲུག་དོན་ལ་སྦྱོར་བས་མཛེས། །དེ་ཕྱིར་མཛེས་པའི་རྒྱན་ཤེས་བྱ།

།དཔེ་ལ་གསུམ། ཆོས་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ལ་ཆོས་སྐུས་བརྒྱན་པ་ནམ་མཁའ་ལ་ཉི་མས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུ། ཆོས་སྐུ་སྐུ་ལྔ་ལ་རིག་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱིས་བརྒྱན་པ་རྨ་བྱའི་སྒོ་ང་འོད་ལྔ་ཕྲུག་གུའི་རིག་པས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུའམ། གསེར་ལ་གཡུས་སྤྲས་པ་དང༌། མན་ཤེལ་ལ་འོད་གསལ་བ་དང་སྒོ་ང་རྡོལ་ནས་ཕྱིས་ཕྱུང་བ་ལྟར་རིམ་པ་བཞིན་ཤེས་པར་བྱ་སྟེ།

Third, [as for the comprehensive understanding of the 'luminously radiant internal display' (rol pa) there are five topics: (1.) essential meaning (ngo bo/svabhāva), (2.) etymology (nges tshig/nirukti), (3.) classification (dbye ba/prabheda), (4.) illustrative example (mtshon dpe/dṛṣṭānta), and (5.) mode of realization (rtogs tshul):

1. The essential meaning of the 'luminously radiant internal display' is perfect excellence, being endowed with the qualities of its phenomenal existence (chos) and characterized by appearing subsequent to [the intrinsic nature of phenomenal existence (chos nyid)].

2. As for etymological definition, it is called an 'luminously radiant internal display' because it is the internal display of that which arises from itself as the luminously radiant internal display; thus, it is the internal display within that internal display.

3. As for the [twofold] classification, (1.) it is the luminously radiant internal display of dharmatā’s purity – the [primordially] pure state of the intrinsic nature of phenomenal existence - which arises from the natural radiance of awareness (rig pa'i gdangs) as the enlightened bodies, wisdoms, and compassionate energy, and (2.) it is the external display of the dharmatā’s impurity – the impure state of the intrinsic nature of phenomenal existence - which arises as the appearances of the deluded perception of the physical environment and its sentient beings. Thus, forms - visual appearances are the external display of the enlightened body, sounds - auditory appearances are the external display of the enlightened speech, and conceptual recollections – mindful presence and awareness is the external display of the enlightened mind. These arise from the radiance of the enlightened body, speech, and mind (sku gsung thugs gyi gdangs), and become present as the external display of the three doors [of one’s body speech and mind (lus ngag yid)].

4. Regarding the [two illustrative] examples [the Ta**ra of the Great All-Illuminating Sphere (thig le kun gsal chen po'i rgyud)] states likewise: (1.) the ocean foam’s flung spray and its collapsing and dissolving back into the ocean, and (2.) the illusory appearances of a great variety of forms created by a magician, elucidate the virtuous qualities of the unceasing luminously radiant [internal and external] display, which clearly manifests as anything whatsoever. Even though there are many similar examples for the term 'luminously radiant display' these [two] summarize its [seemingly internal and external] radiant qualities.

5. As for the mode of realization for ordinary beings, bewildering delusory appearances, which naturally arise by themselves, are naturally grasped just as they randomly appear so that they eventually remain in a lasting condition by [continuously] clinging to them as being real.
Instead, for the dzogchen yogic practitioner, by recognizing that those non-existent luminously clear appearances are just Awareness’s embellishing ornament and therefore its luminously radiant external display [which arises and appears from Awareness’s luminously radiant internal display,] those illusionary manifestations are liberated as natural appearances manifesting by itself. Thus, realizing them as being free from the extremes of existence and non-existence is [the mode of realization]."

Introduced and translated by Namkhai Naldjor, Yephel, September 26th, 2026. May it be inspiring and helpful!

Tibetan:
ཤར་ཚུལ་དངོས་ནི། རིག་པའི་རྩལ་ལས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ལྔ་ཤར། དེའི་རྩལ་འོད་ཟེར་ལྔར་ལས་འབྱུང་བ་ལྔར་ཤར། དེའི་རྩལ་ལས་སྣོད་ཀྱི་འབྱུང་གཟུགས་སུ་ཤར། དེའི་རྩལ་ལས་སོ་སོའི་མེ་ཏོག་ལ་སོགས་པར་ཤར། ཐིག་ལེ་འོད་ལྔ་ལས་ལུས་ཀྱི་འབྱུང་ལྔ་རྩལ་དུ་ཤར། དེ་ལས་ཕུང་པོ་ཁམས་དང་སྐྱེ་མཆེད་ལ་སོགས་པར་ཤར་རོ། །ཡང་རྟོགས་པས་མྱང་འདས་ཀྱི་རྩལ། སྐུ་ལྔ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ལྔ་ཕྲིན་ལས་དང་བཅས་པ་ཤར་ཏེ། ཡོན་ཏན་མ་འགགས་པར་རང་བྱུང་བ་ནི།

ངོ་བོ་ནི་མ་འགགས་པའོ། །ངེས་ཚིག་ནི་འབྱུང་བའི་སྟོབས་དང་ལྡན་པས་རྩལ་ལོ། དབྱེ་བ་ནི། །གཉིས་སོ། །འཁྲུལ་སྣང་འཁོར་བར་སྣང་བ་དང༌།རྟོགས་ཏེ་མྱ་ངན་འདས་པར་སྣང་བ་སྟེ། འཁོར་འདས་གཉིས་སོ། །དཔེ་ནི་ཉི་མ་གཅིག་ཉི་མ་དུ་མར་སྣང་བའམ། ཉི་མ་ལ་འོད་ཟེར་མི་འགགས་པའམ། བཙན་དུག་སྔགས་ཀྱིས་ཟིན་མ་ཟིན་ནམ། ག་པུར་རམ། གློག་རྒྱུ་བ་ལྟ་བུའོ། །ལྔ་པ་ནི་ནང་གསལ་འཆར་རུང་ངམ་འཆར་ནུས་ཙམ་དུ་རིག་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཤེལ་གོང་ལྟ་བུའི་ནང་ན། ཡེ་ཤེས་ལྔའི་རང་གདངས་འོད་ལྔ་གསལ་བའི་རང་རྩལ་ལས། ཕྱི་གསལ་དུ་ཤར་བའི་སྣང་བ་སྐུ་དང་ཡེ་ཤེས་ལྔའི་གསལ་བ་ལ། མ་རྟོགས་གཟུང་འཛིན་གྱི་འཁོར་བའི་རྩལ་འཁྲུལ་སྣང་དུ་རང་ཤར། རྟོགས་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པའི་རྩལ་དག་སྣང་གཟུགས་སྐུ་གཉིས་སུ་ཤར་ཏེ།

།གཉིས་པ་རྒྱན་ལ་ལྔ་སྟེ། ངོ་བོ། ངེས་ཚིག །དབྱེ་བ། དཔེ། མཚོན་ཚིག་གོ།
།རྒྱན་གྱི་ངོ་བོ་ནི་ངོ་བོའི་ཆོས་ལ་ཁྱད་པར་གྱི་ཆོས་ཀྱིས་མཛེས་པའོ།
།ངེས་ཚིག་གང་ཡོད་པས་ཡོད་པ་མཛེས་པའི་ཕྱིར་རྒྱན་ནོ།
།དབྱེ་ན་གསུམ་སྟེ། ཆོས་ཉིད་ཀྱི་རྒྱན་དུ་སྐུ་གསུམ། ཆོས་སྐུའི་རྒྱན་དུ་གཟུགས་སྐུ་གཉིས། གཉིས་ཀའི་རྒྱན་དུ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ལ་རང་གདངས་འོད་ལྔ་དང་བཅས་པའོ།
།དཔེ་ལ་གསུམ། ཆོས་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ལ་ཆོས་སྐུས་བརྒྱན་པ་ནམ་མཁའ་ལ་ཉི་མས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུ། ཆོས་སྐུ་སྐུ་ལྔ་ལ་རིག་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱིས་བརྒྱན་པ་རྨ་བྱའི་སྒོ་ང་འོད་ལྔ་ཕྲུག་གུའི་རིག་པས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུའམ། གསེར་ལ་གཡུས་སྤྲས་པ་དང༌། མན་ཤེལ་ལ་འོད་གསལ་བ་དང་སྒོ་ང་རྡོལ་ནས་ཕྱིས་ཕྱུང་བ་ལྟར་རིམ་པ་བཞིན་ཤེས་པར་བྱ་སྟེ།
།ངེས་ཚིག་དོན་གྱི་དབྱེ་བ་ནི། །ཆོས་ཉིད་དག་ལ་ཆོས་སྐུས་བརྒྱན༌།སྟོང་པ་ཕྱང་ཆད་གསལ་བས་མཛེས། །ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུ་ལ་ཡེ་ཤེས་བརྒྱན། ཡོན་ཏན་འགགས་པ་མེད་པས་མཛེས།། །ཡེ་ཤེས་དག་ལ་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བརྒྱད། །འགྲོ་དྲུག་དོན་ལ་སྦྱོར་བས་མཛེས། །དེ་ཕྱིར་མཛེས་པའི་རྒྱན་ཤེས་བྱ།
།དཔེ་ལ་གསུམ། ཆོས་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ལ་ཆོས་སྐུས་བརྒྱན་པ་ནམ་མཁའ་ལ་ཉི་མས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུ། ཆོས་སྐུ་སྐུ་ལྔ་ལ་རིག་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱིས་བརྒྱན་པ་རྨ་བྱའི་སྒོ་ང་འོད་ལྔ་ཕྲུག་གུའི་རིག་པས་བརྒྱན་པ་ལྟ་བུའམ། གསེར་ལ་གཡུས་སྤྲས་པ་དང༌། མན་ཤེལ་ལ་འོད་གསལ་བ་དང་སྒོ་ང་རྡོལ་ནས་ཕྱིས་ཕྱུང་བ་ལྟར་རིམ་པ་བཞིན་ཤེས་པར་བྱ་སྟེ།

།གསུམ་པ་རོལ་པ་ལ་ལྔ་སྟེ། ངོ་བོ། ངེས་ཚིག །དབྱེ་བ། མཚོན་དཔེ། རྟོགས་ཚུལ་ལོ།
།རོལ་པའི་ངོ་བོ་ནི་ཕུན་སུམ་ཚོགས་པ། ཆོས་སུ་འབྱོར་བ། རྗེས་འགྲོ་བྱེད་པའོ།
།ངེས་ཚིག་ནི་རང་ལས་ཤར་བ་ལ་རོལ་པས་རོལ་པའོ། །དབྱེ་ན། དག་པ་ཆོས་ཉིད་ཀྱི་རོལ་པ་རིག་པའི་གདངས་སུ་སྐུ་དང་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཐུགས་རྗེར་ཤར་བ་དང༌། མ་དག་པ་ཆོས་ཉིད་ཀྱི་རོལ་པ་སྣོད་བཅུད་འཁྲུལ་པ་སྣང་བ་དེ། གཟུགས་སྣང་སྐུའི་རོལ་པ། སྒྲ་སྣང་གསུང་གི་རོལ་པ། དྲན་རིག་ཐུགས་ཀྱི་རོལ་པ་སྟེ། སྐུ་གསུང་ཐུགས་གྱི་གདངས་ལས་ཤར་ཞིང༌། དེ་ སྒོ་གསུམ་གྱི་རོལ་དུ་ཡོད་པའོ།
།དཔེ་དེ་ཉིད་ལས། རྒྱ་མཚོར་ཆུ་བྲན་འཕྲོ་ཞིང་འདུ་བ་ལྟར། །སྒྱུ་མའི་སྦྱོར་བས་གཟུགས་བརྙན་སྣ་ཚོགས་སྣང༌། །ཡོན་ཏན་མ་འགགས་རོལ་པ་ཅིར་ཡང་གསལ། །རོལ་པའི་དཔེ་དེ་མང་ཡང་བསྡུས་པ་ཡིན།
རྟོགས་ཚུལ་ནི་ཐ་མལ་བ་ལ་འཁྲུལ་སྣང་རང་གར་ཤར། རང་གར་འཛིན། བདེན་ཞེན་ལ་གནས་པ་ཉིད། རྣལ་འབྱོར་བས་མེད་པ་གསལ་སྣང་རིག་པའི་རྒྱན་དང༌། རོལ་པར་ཤེས་པས་སྒྱུ་མ་རང་སྣང་དུ་གྲོལ་ཏེ། ཡོད་མེད་མཐའ་བྲལ་དུ་རྟོགས་པ་ནི།

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