Prof. David Francis Germano - "The Great Perfection (rdzogs chen)"
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- David Germano teaches and researches Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, where he is a professor, as well as directs the Tibet Center. He has lived for years in Tibetan communities, where he has studied Buddhist philosophy and contemplation, and done extensive community engagement work. His personal scholarship has focused on the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) tradition in its many dimensions. For over a decade, he led large scale explorations of contemplative ideas, values, and practices in relationship to scientific frameworks and creative applications in higher education in service of facilitating student flourishing. Currently he leads the Generative Contemplative Initiative, which explores contemplation as a generative human capacity with distinctive lexicons, grammars, and contexts and considers how we can design better contemplative futures.
The Seminal Heart (snying thig) tradition of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) begins with eleventh century Tibetan revelations of extraordinarily innovative new scriptures, becomes dominant among Nyingma lineages by the fourteenth century, and has continued as such into the present. However, the difference in narrative, philosophy, practice, and community between these origins and contemporary realities is extraordinary, though the tradition stresses continuity throughout with the original scriptural sources. These striking transformations are not significantly acknowledged by Tibetan authors, apart from scattered references to discontinued practices, lost texts, and attenuated transmissions; there is even less attempt to explain or theorize these vast differences. I will offer a history and theorization of these changes to make sense of the drivers and significance of these patterns of profound continuity and discontinuity. I will also offer specific markers to utilize to appraise any given Great Perfection tradition relationship to this dominant influence.
Wow! What a comprehensive lecture in just two hours!
Thank you 🙏.
So much history, so much inquiry and practice. Bringing my mind home to rest now. ❤ AH
I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for the tremendous work done in research, analysis and presentation. For your passion for exploring and uncovering such a profound and important topic and the subject in particular!
Thanks a lot 🌈🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏🌈
the ingredient modern scholars ( strongly brained washed into western mindset ) have a hard time grasping is that all the text and mandalas and practices are 1/ a support for quite secrete transmission from one to one or one to a little group , and that the purpose is to ground oneself in the magic of open heart devotion :
to experience the blossoming of wisdom as the whole of manifestation as a very intimate bombastic explosion of the ego of the devoted. 2/ And that person also has no TV , no “newspapers” no “books” as distractions , not much variety of food , not much contact with fat away cultures but lots of contact with wilderness and pure strength of elements and omnipresent crude blue of a amazing sky .. And meditation is where all is being cooked . So who are the scholars to somehow assume they did understand half of it . I appreciate a lot Sr Germano & also his inspirateur Anagarika Govinda is that they did preserve humility , respect and awe towards such an incredible tradition.
Wonderful talk, much gratitude.
Thank you, Prof David, for such a delightful presentation. Please consider sharing this so students can study and use this information for their personal use. I would love to review all these in detail.
Dear Mr. Germano,
Thank you very much 🙏
Your clear mental activity is pure nourishment for Living Beings in these crazy times
💎❤🗽
Truly wonderful and full of beautiful joyful energy
Thank you so kindly professor Germano and RYI ... Blessings
Dzogchen emerged during the first dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet, around the 7th to 9th centuries CE. While it is considered a Tibetan development by some scholars, it draws upon key ideas from Indian sources. The earliest Dzogchen texts appeared in the 9th century, attributed to Indian masters. These texts, known as the "Eighteen Great Scriptures," form the "mind series" and are attributed to figures like Śrī Siṅgha and Vimalamitra. Early Dzogchen was marked by a departure from normative Vajrayana practices, focusing instead on simple calming contemplations leading to a direct immersion in awareness. During the Tibetan renaissance era (10th to early 12th century), Dzogchen underwent significant development, incorporating new practices and teachings from India. This period saw the emergence of new Dzogchen traditions like the "Instruction Class series" and the "Seminal Heart".
As far as I know the most current research into the origins of Dzogchen is van Schaik's "The Early Days of Dzogchen". Very enlightening.
This is so helpful. Thankyou.
Hahaha brilliant, just as I'm returning home,to start listening to your talk on people finding treasure in the landscape! Yay
Thank you Germano and RYI ❤
Would it be possible to have a pdf of the slides? So interesting❤
That's one of the best if not the best lectures on the topic of Dzogchen I have ever heard. I hope it will be translated to multiple languages.
Love the talk! Is it possible to get the PowerPoint presentation deck?
When will David Germano return to scholarship? His articles and works are greatly missed.
❤❤❤
I would be disappointed if history and the rest said in the first 20 min would be different. Great exposition.
Thought dreams about the practice lineage.
Buddha rhymes with "coulda" not "boo-da".